Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is introducing a new resolution with a bipartisan group of senators to condemn Hamas’ use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war against the people of Israel, according to a copy of the resolution shared first with CNN.
The Senate-led resolution, which does not mention any recent remarks made by lawmakers, comes shortly after Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state had to clean up comments she made to CNN’s Dana Bash on the topic that set off a firestorm among her Democratic colleagues.
The group of 16 senators signing onto the resolution calls on the Senate to condemn “in the strongest terms the deliberate use of gender-based violence against women and children in Israel during the terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023,” and says the international community must “take every step possible” to end the use of rape as a weapon of war, including responding to testimonials of victims and condemning gender-based violence as soon as it is reported.
“The deliberate use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war by Hamas terrorists against the people of Israel is atrocious,” Shaheen said in a statement to CNN. “I’m proud to join with my colleagues, including (Alabama Republican Sen. Katie) Britt, to introduce a bipartisan resolution that strongly condemns the barbaric attacks of October 7th and the sexual and gender-based violence carried out by Hamas against the people of Israel.”
Britt, who is cosponsoring the resolution with Shaheen and has seen footage of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, said in a statement, “as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister, and as an American, I was absolutely horrified by the acts of pure evil carried out against innocent Israeli women and young girls.”
The resolution not only puts pressure on the international community to take action…
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