Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5917, the Strengthening Tools to Counter the Use of Human Shields Act, and I thank my colleagues, Representative Gallagher and Representative Sherman, for introducing this legislation. As we all know, Hamas regularly uses people as human shields, hiding behind them and thereby endangering innocent Palestinian civilians. We have seen this clearly in the months since October 7, but this behavior is not new. It is and has been the de facto policy of Hamas for many years. Hamas has operated from under, inside, and adjacent to hospitals, schools, and other civilian structures. Within civilian buildings, they have stored weapons caches and ammunition, built miles of tunnels underground, and launched attacks from behind women and children. When Israel instructed families in Gaza to flee to the south for safety, Hamas demanded people stay in Gaza City, to remain in place, saying that it was beneficial to their strategy. Hamas does not care for the Palestinian people. They never have. They never will. Hamas only means to exploit them as human shields. This behavior of hiding behind noncombatants is a clear violation of international law and has been an unconscionable contributor to the deaths of too many innocent Palestinian people. This measure, H.R.…”