Then-US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), now a US senator, during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

US Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have introduced to the Senate the Accountability for Terrorist Perpetrators of October 7th Act, bipartisan legislation which would sanction the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), the third largest terrorist group in Gaza. 

“For years, the Popular Resistance Committees have carried out terrorist attacks against Israelis, Americans, and Palestinians,” Schiff said in a statement on Tuesday. “They were willing and cruel participants with Hamas during the horrific Oct. 7 massacre, killing innocent Israelis and taking and holding hostages after that terrible attack. Any organization engaging in this level of violence should be sanctioned under US law and officially designated as a terrorist group.”

In addition, US Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), David Kustoff (R-TN), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Sarah McBride (D-DE) reintroduced the legislation to the House of Representatives. 

The PRC has executed over 100 terrorist attacks against both Israelis and Americans, according to the lawmakers, and participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, joining Hamas in killing both Americans and Israelis. The group touted its participation in the murder of roughly 1,200 individuals and abduction of 251 hostages on various social media outlets.  

Unlike Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the two largest terrorist groups in Gaza, the PRC has not been issued sanctions or officially declared a terrorist organization by the United States. The legislation, if passed, would require the Secretary of State to formally assess whether the PRC satisfies the requirements to be officially considered a foreign terrorist organization. 

The PRC have carried out a number of deadly terrorist attacks targeting military personnel and civilians within the Gaza Strip. In 2000, the group wounded eight civilians during a shooting attack on a bus in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. In 2002, the group killed three Israeli soldiers with explosive charges intended for use by military tanks. In 2004, PRC and PIJ claimed joint responsibility for murdering Israeli settler Tati Hatuel and her two daughters. In 2005, the PRC killed six Israeli civilians at the Karni Crossing, located on the border separating Israel and the Gaza strip. 

“Despite decades of attacks against Americans and Israelis, including on Oct. 7, the PRC has yet to be properly sanctioned for its barbarism. This bill will help hold accountable every terrorist that participated in the Oct. 7 attacks,” Ricketts said in a statement.