Israel-Hamas War Crimes Deterrence and Accountability Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6196 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6196

 To require a comprehensive report on the Federal Government's efforts 
  to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence of atrocities committed 
  during Hamas's attack on Israel, public dissemination campaigns to 
ensure those responsible for the attacks are identified and prosecuted, 
 and efforts to leverage international cooperation and best practices 
                  regarding current Israeli-Hamas war.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2023

 Mr. Molinaro (for himself, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Owens, 
    Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Ciscomani, and Mr. 
  Garbarino) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require a comprehensive report on the Federal Government's efforts 
  to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence of atrocities committed 
  during Hamas's attack on Israel, public dissemination campaigns to 
ensure those responsible for the attacks are identified and prosecuted, 
 and efforts to leverage international cooperation and best practices 
                  regarding current Israeli-Hamas war.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Israel-Hamas War Crimes Deterrence 
and Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) in its premeditated, unjustified, and deadly assault on 
        Israel in years on October 7, 2023, Hamas militants crossing 
        the border with a heavy barrage of rockets and gunmen, 
        resulting in the deaths of at least 1,400 Israelis and 32 
        United States citizens, crimes that include but are not limited 
        to--
                    (A) the deliberate killing of civilians in their 
                homes, including men, women, and children;
                    (B) the taking hostages that include Israeli and 
                United States citizens; and
                    (C) the wanton destruction of property and civilian 
                infrastructure; and
            (2) and other international human rights violations.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence and 
        information related to war crimes and other atrocities 
        committed during Hamas's attack on Israel that began on October 
        7, 2023, for use in appropriate domestic, foreign, and 
        international courts and tribunals prosecuting those 
        responsible for such crimes consistent with applicable law;
            (2) to help deter the commission of war crimes and other 
        atrocities in Israel and surrounding areas by publicizing to 
        the maximum possible extent, efforts to identify and prosecute 
        those responsible for the commission of war crimes during the 
        full-scale attack of Israel that began on October 7, 2023; and
            (3) to continue efforts to identify, deter, and pursue 
        accountability for war crimes and other atrocities committed 
        around the world and by other perpetrators, and to leverage 
        international cooperation and best practices in this regard 
        with respect to the current situation in Israel.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON UNITED STATES EFFORTS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report, which may include a classified annex, describing in detail the 
following--
            (1) United States Government efforts to collect, analyze, 
        and preserve evidence and information related to war crimes and 
        other atrocities committed during the full-scale attack of 
        Israel by Hamas, including a description of--
                    (A) the respective roles of various agencies, 
                departments, and offices, and the interagency mechanism 
                established for the coordination of such efforts;
                    (B) the types of information and evidence that are 
                being collected, analyzed, and preserved to help 
                identify those responsible for the commission of war 
                crimes or other atrocities; and
                    (C) steps taken to coordinate with, and support the 
                work of, allies, partners, international institutions 
                and organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in 
                such efforts;
            (2) media, public diplomacy, and information operations to 
        the world aware of efforts to identify and prosecute those 
        responsible for the commission of war crimes or other 
        atrocities during this conflict, and of the types of acts that 
        may be prosecutable; and
            (3) the process for a domestic, foreign, or international 
        court or tribunal to request and obtain from the United States 
        Government information related to war crimes or other 
        atrocities committed during this attack.
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