II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3166 

To prohibit official United States Government business from being conducted 

in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, to suspend foreign assistance 

to the Gaza Strip until Hamas no longer exercises authority over the 

Gaza Strip, and to require reports and impose sanctions with respect 

to the provision of services to Hamas, financial transactions that benefit 

the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the use of human shields, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 30, 2023 

Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To prohibit official United States Government business from 

being conducted in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, 

to suspend foreign assistance to the Gaza Strip until 

Hamas no longer exercises authority over the Gaza Strip, 

and to require reports and impose sanctions with respect 

to the provision of services to Hamas, financial transactions that benefit the Islamic Republic of Iran, and 

the use of human shields, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Hamas Sanctions Act of 2023’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SANCTIONS AND REPORTS WITH RESPECT TO 

PROVISION OF SERVICES TO HAMAS IN ALLIED COUNTRIES 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 103. Report on provision of services to members of Hamas in allied countries; imposition of sanctions. 

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS IN AND 

ASSISTANCE TO THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP 

Sec. 201. Prohibition on actions that would authorize conduct of official United 

States Government business in the Gaza Strip or the West 

Bank. 

Sec. 202. Limitation on assistance to the Gaza Strip. 

Sec. 203. Expansion of prohibitions on assistance to the West Bank. 

TITLE III—SANCTIONS AND REPORTS WITH RESPECT TO 

TRANSACTIONS THAT BENEFIT IRAN 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Report on certain financial transactions that benefit the Islamic Republic of Iran; imposition of sanctions. 

Sec. 303. Prohibition on actions altering application of certain sanctions with 

respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

TITLE IV—SANCTIONS AND REPORTS WITH RESPECT TO USE OF 

HUMAN SHIELDS 

Sec. 401. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 402. Modification and extension of Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act. 

Sec. 403. Report on countering the use of human shields. 

Sec. 404. Recurring report on use of human shields by Iranian-funded terrorist 

groups. 


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1 TITLE I—SANCTIONS AND RE2 PORTS WITH RESPECT TO 

3 PROVISION OF SERVICES TO 

4 HAMAS IN ALLIED COUN5 TRIES 

6 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) ALLIED COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘allied coun9 try’’ means— 

10 (A) a country that is a member of the 

11 North Atlantic Treaty Organization; or 

12 (B) a country that has been designated as 

13 a major non-NATO ally under section 517 of 

14 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

15 2321k). 

16 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per17 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 

18 United States person. 

19 (3) MEMBER OR AFFILIATE OF HAMAS.—The 

20 term ‘‘member or affiliate of Hamas’’ includes— 

21 (A) an official, agent, member, or affiliate 

22 of Hamas; 

23 (B) an official, agent, member, or affiliate 

24 of— 

25 (i) the Palestine Islamic Jihad; 


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1 (ii) the Popular Resistance Commit2 tees; 

3 (iii) the Abd Al-Qadir Al-Husseini 

4 Brigades; 

5 (iv) the Democratic Front for the Lib6 eration of Palestine; 

7 (v) the Lion’s Den; 

8 (vi) Liwa al-Quds; 

9 (vii) Liwa Fatemiyoun; 

10 (viii) Liwa Zeynabiyoun; or 

11 (ix) the Palestinian Mujahideen Move12 ment; 

13 (C) any successor to a person described in 

14 subparagraph (A) or (B); or 

15 (D) any foreign person owned or controlled 

16 by a person described in subparagraph (A) or 

17 (B). 

18 (4) STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.—The term 

19 ‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’ means a country the 

20 government of which the Secretary of State has de21 termined has repeatedly provided support for acts of 

22 international terrorism, for purposes of— 

23 (A) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Export 

24 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

25 4813(c)(1)(A)(i)); 


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1 (B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance 

2 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

3 (C) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Con4 trol Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or 

5 (D) any other provision of law. 

6 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

7 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

8 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law9 fully admitted for the permanent residence to 

10 the United States; or 

11 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

12 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

13 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

14 such an entity. 

15 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

16 It shall be the policy of the United States to fully 

17 implement and enforce sanctions against terrorism in 

18 order to counter the activities of Hamas, including by de19 nying members or affiliates of Hamas the ability to oper20 ate or reside in the territories of allied countries. 

21 SEC. 103. REPORT ON PROVISION OF SERVICES TO MEM22 BERS OR AFFILIATES OF HAMAS IN ALLIED 

23 COUNTRIES; IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 

24 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF MEMBERS OR AFFILIATES

25 OF HAMAS.—Not later than 15 days after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consulta2 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to 

3 Congress a report listing all foreign persons currently 

4 known to the United States to be a member or affiliate 

5 of Hamas. 

6 (b) REPORT ON PROVISION OF SERVICES TO MEM7 BERS OR AFFILIATES OF HAMAS IN ALLIED COUN8 TRIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

11 thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to 

13 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

14 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

15 of Representatives a report on the provision of serv16 ices to members or affiliates of Hamas in allied 

17 countries. 

18 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para19 graph (1) shall include— 

20 (A) a list of allied countries in the territory 

21 of which members or affiliates of Hamas are 

22 known to operate or reside; 

23 (B) a list of any foreign persons in an al24 lied country that provide services to members or 

25 affiliates of Hamas, including— 


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1 (i) lodging; 

2 (ii) utilities; 

3 (iii) services provided by paid lodging 

4 facilities, including laundry and room serv5 ice; 

6 (iv) the provision of facilities for meet7 ings; or 

8 (v) personal banking services; 

9 (C) for each country on the list required by 

10 subparagraph (A), a determination of whether 

11 allowing the provision of services to members or 

12 affiliates of Hamas, including services described 

13 in subparagraph (B), in the territory of the 

14 country results in the country meeting the cri15 teria for designation as a state sponsor of ter16 rorism; and 

17 (D) a description of actions taken by 

18 United States diplomats to encourage countries 

19 on the list required by subparagraph (A) to 

20 cease allowing members or affiliates of Hamas 

21 to operate or reside in those countries. 

22 (c) SANCTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose 

24 the sanctions described in paragraph (2) with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 31, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3166.IS S3166

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1 spect to each foreign person on the list required by 

2 subsection (a) or (b)(2)(B). 

3 (2) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de4 scribed in this paragraph are— 

5 (A) the sanctions applicable under Execu6 tive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relat7 ing to blocking property and prohibiting trans8 actions with persons who commit, threaten to 

9 commit, or support terrorism); and 

10 (B) inclusion on the list of specially des11 ignated nationals and blocked persons main12 tained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

13 of the Department of the Treasury. 

14 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON OFFI15 CIAL BUSINESS IN AND AS16 SISTANCE TO THE WEST 

17 BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP 

18 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS THAT WOULD AU19 THORIZE CONDUCT OF OFFICIAL UNITED 

20 STATES GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE 

21 GAZA STRIP OR THE WEST BANK. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the en23 actment of this Act, the President may not take any action 

24 described in subsection (c) if taking such action would au25 thorize the conduct of the official business of the United 


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1 States Government by employees, grantees, or contractors 

2 thereof in the West Bank or Gaza Strip that would other3 wise be prohibited by the Global Terrorism Sanctions Reg4 ulations under part 594 of title 31, Code of Federal Regu5 lations, or the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions 

6 Regulations under part 597 of that title. 

7 (b) APPLICATION TO EXISTING ACTIONS.—Any ac8 tion described in subsection (c) that was taken before the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act is rescinded. 

10 (c) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—An action described in 

11 this subsection is an action that reduces the application 

12 of the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations under part 

13 594 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, or the For14 eign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations under 

15 part 597 of that title, including— 

16 (1) any termination or waiver of the application 

17 of sanctions; 

18 (2) any licensing action; or 

19 (3) any removal of any person from the list of 

20 specially designated nationals and blocked persons 

21 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

22 of the Department of the Treasury. 

23 SEC. 202. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE GAZA STRIP. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds described in 

25 subsection (b) may be obligated or expended unless the 


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1 President, during the 90-day period immediately pre2 ceding such obligation or expenditure, transmitted written 

3 certification to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

4 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

5 House of Representatives that Hamas does not exercise 

6 de facto authority over the Gaza Strip. 

7 (b) FUNDS DESCRIBED.—The funds described in this 

8 subsection are Federal funds appropriated for— 

9 (1) assistance to the Gaza Strip; or 

10 (2) contributions to the United Nations Relief 

11 and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the 

12 Near East, to any successor or related entity, or to 

13 the regular budget of the United Nations for the 

14 support of the United Nations Relief and Works 

15 Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East or 

16 a successor or related entity. 

17 SEC. 203. EXPANSION OF PROHIBITIONS ON ASSISTANCE 

18 TO THE WEST BANK. 

19 Section 1004(a)(1) of the Taylor Force Act (22 

20 U.S.C. 2378c–1) is amended by striking ‘‘that directly 

21 benefits the Palestinian Authority’’. 


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1 TITLE III—SANCTIONS AND RE2 PORTS WITH RESPECT TO 

3 TRANSACTIONS THAT BEN4 EFIT IRAN 

5 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per8 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 

9 United States person. 

10 (2) UNITED STATES PERSON.—the term 

11 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

12 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law13 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

14 United States; or 

15 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

16 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

17 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

18 such an entity. 

19 SEC. 302. REPORT ON CERTAIN FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS 

20 THAT BENEFIT THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 

21 IRAN; IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 

22 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an25 nually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit 


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1 to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen2 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

3 House of Representatives a report on the violation 

4 of sanctions imposed by the United States with re5 spect to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para7 graph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) A list of foreign persons that— 

9 (i) knowingly conducted or facilitated 

10 any significant financial transaction with a 

11 foreign person relating to funds trans12 ferred by foreign persons relating to any 

13 agreement between the United States and 

14 the Islamic Republic of Iran between Janu15 ary 1, 2023, and the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act, that would be subject to the re17 strictions described in section 1245(d) of 

18 the National Defense Authorization Act for 

19 Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)) 

20 but for the issuance of a waiver under 

21 paragraph (5) of that section; 

22 (ii) knowingly conducted or facilitated 

23 any significant financial transaction with 

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1 tions imposed by the United States for the 

2 purpose of repatriating to the Government 

3 of the Islamic Republic of Iran assets sub4 ject to the restrictions described in such 

5 section 1245(d); or 

6 (iii) knowingly engaged in trans7 actions involving the exchange of Special 

8 Drawing Rights issued by the Inter9 national Monetary Fund and held by or al10 located to the Islamic Republic of Iran into 

11 United States dollars or another foreign 

12 currency. 

13 (B) An identification of any vessel that 

14 was knowingly used by a foreign person for the 

15 transportation of petroleum or petroleum prod16 ucts from the Islamic Republic of Iran, includ17 ing the following information for the vessel: 

18 (i) The International Maritime Orga19 nization number of the vessel. 

20 (ii) The vessel identification number. 

21 (iii) The current name and any past 

22 name of the vessel. 

23 (iv) Any maritime classification soci24 ety providing services for the vessel. 


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1 (v) The current flag under which the 

2 vessel operates. 

3 (vi) Any past flag under which the 

4 vessel operated. 

5 (vii) All owners and operators of the 

6 vessel. 

7 (C) A description of actions taken by the 

8 Secretary of State to engage maritime classi9 fication societies identified under subparagraph 

10 (B)(iv), and foreign governments that allow ves11 sels described in subparagraph (B) to fly their 

12 flag, to ensure those societies and govern13 ments— 

14 (i) are fully aware of the sanctions, fi15 nancial crimes, and reputational risks in16 volved in continuing to provide services to 

17 such vessels or to allow such vessels to fly 

18 their flag; and 

19 (ii) cease providing those services or 

20 allowing such vessels to fly their flag, as 

21 the case may be. 

22 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 

23 (1) TRANSACTIONS.—Notwithstanding the 

24 issuance of any waiver or license, including General 

25 License 8 issued by the Office of Foreign Assets 


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1 Control, the President shall impose the sanctions de2 scribed in section 1245(d)(1)(A) of the National De3 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 

4 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(1)(A)) with respect to any financial 

5 institution on the most recent list required by sub6 section (a)(2)(A). 

7 (2) VESSELS.—The President shall— 

8 (A) impose the sanctions described in Ex9 ecutive Order 13382 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; re10 lating to blocking property of weapons of mass 

11 destruction proliferators and their supporters) 

12 with respect to— 

13 (i) each vessel identified under sub14 section (a)(2)(B); and 

15 (ii) each owner or operator of such a 

16 vessel identified under clause (vii) of that 

17 subsection; and 

18 (B) include each such vessel, owner, and 

19 operator on the list of specially designated na20 tionals and blocked persons maintained by the 

21 Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Depart22 ment of the Treasury. 


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1 SEC. 303. PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS ALTERING APPLICA2 TION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT 

3 TO THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of the en5 actment of this Act, the President may not take any action 

6 described in subsection (c) if taking the action would sig7 nificantly alter the application of sanctions described in 

8 subsection (d). 

9 (b) APPLICATION TO EXISTING ACTIONS.—Any ac10 tion described in subsection (c) taken before the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act is rescinded. 

12 (c) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—An action described in 

13 this subsection is— 

14 (1) any termination or waiver of the application 

15 of sanctions described in subsection (d); 

16 (2) any licensing action with respect to such 

17 sanctions; or 

18 (3) any removal of any person from the list of 

19 specially designated nationals and blocked persons 

20 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

21 of the Department of the Treasury. 

22 (d) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de23 scribed in this subsection are sanctions under— 

24 (1) section 1245(d)(1) of the National Defense 

25 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 

26 8513a(d)(1)); and 


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1 (2) sections 1244(c)(1) and 1247(a) of Iran 

2 Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 

3 U.S.C. 8803(c)(1) and 8806(a)). 

4 TITLE IV—SANCTIONS AND RE5 PORTS WITH RESPECT TO 

6 USE OF HUMAN SHIELDS 

7 SEC. 401. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

8 It shall be the policy of the United States to fully 

9 implement and enforce sanctions against terrorist organi10 zations and other malign actors that use innocent civilians 

11 as human shields. 

12 SEC. 402. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF SANC13 TIONING THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS DE14 FENSELESS SHIELDS ACT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Sanctioning the 

16 Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 

17 115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

20 paragraph (4); and 

21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(3) Each foreign person that the President de24 termines, on or after the date of the enactment of 

25 the Hamas Sanctions Act of 2023— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is a member of Palestine Islamic 

2 Jihad or is knowingly acting on behalf of Pal3 estine Islamic Jihad; and 

4 ‘‘(B) knowingly orders, controls, or other5 wise directs the use of civilians protected as 

6 such by the law of war to shield military objec7 tives from attack.’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 

9 (h), and (i) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), 

10 respectively; and 

11 (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(e) CONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS.—Not later than 

14 120 days after receiving a request from the chairman and 

15 ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional 

16 committees with respect to whether a foreign person meets 

17 the criteria of a person described in subsection (b) or (c), 

18 the President shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) determine if the person meets such cri20 teria; and 

21 ‘‘(2) submit a written justification to the chair22 man and ranking member detailing whether or not 

23 the President imposed or intends to impose sanc24 tions described in subsection (b) or (c) with respect 

25 to such person.’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4 of the Sanctioning the 

2 Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 

3 115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para5 graph (8); and 

6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(7) PALESTINE ISLAMIC JIHAD.—The term 

9 ‘Palestine Islamic Jihad’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) the entity known as Palestine Islamic 

11 Jihad and designated by the Secretary of State 

12 as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to 

13 section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or 

15 ‘‘(B) any person identified as an agent or 

16 instrumentality of Palestine Islamic Jihad on 

17 the list of specially designated nationals and 

18 blocked persons maintained by the Office of 

19 Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the 

20 Treasury, the property or interests in property 

21 of which are blocked pursuant to the Inter22 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

23 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).’’. 

24 (c) SUNSET.—Section 5 of the Sanctioning the Use 

25 of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115– 


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1 348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking ‘‘De2 cember 31, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2030’’. 

3 (d) SEVERABILITY.—The Sanctioning the Use of Ci4 vilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115–348; 

5 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

8 ‘‘If any provision of this Act, or the application of 

9 such provision to any person or circumstance, is found to 

10 be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the ap11 plication of that provision to other persons or cir12 cumstances, shall not be affected.’’. 

13 SEC. 403. REPORT ON COUNTERING THE USE OF HUMAN 

14 SHIELDS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

17 shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the 

18 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the 

19 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa20 tives a report that contains the following: 

21 (1) A description of the lessons learned from 

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1 lamic Jihad, and any other organization as deter2 mined by the Secretary of Defense. 

3 (2) A description of a specific plan and actions 

4 being taken by the Department of Defense to incor5 porate the lessons learned as identified in paragraph 

6 (1) into Department of Defense operating guidance, 

7 relevant capabilities, and tactics, techniques, and 

8 procedures to deter, counter, and address the chal9 lenge posed by the use of human shields and hold 

10 accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 

11 human shields. 

12 (3) A description of specific measures being de13 veloped and implemented by the United States Gov14 ernment to mobilize and leverage allied nations, in15 cluding member nations of the North Atlantic Trea16 ty Organization (NATO), to deter, counter, and hold 

17 accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 

18 human shields. 

19 (4) The current status of joint exercises, doc20 trine development, education, and training on coun21 tering the use of human shields in multinational cen22 ters of excellence. 

23 (5) The current status of participation of mem24 bers of the Armed Forces and Department of De25 fense civilian personnel in any multinational center 


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1 of excellence for the purposes of countering the use 

2 of human shields. 

3 (6) The feasibility and advisability of beginning 

4 or continuing participation of members of the Armed 

5 Forces and Department of Defense civilian per6 sonnel to promote the integration of joint exercises, 

7 doctrine development, education, and training on 

8 countering the use of human shields into multi9 national centers of excellence. 

10 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘multi11 national center of excellence’’ has the meaning given that 

12 term in section 344 of title 10, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 404. RECURRING REPORT ON USE OF HUMAN SHIELDS 

14 BY IRANIAN-FUNDED TERRORIST GROUPS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

17 the President shall submit to the congressional defense 

18 committees, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

19 Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

20 House of Representatives a report on the use of human 

21 shields by Iranian funded terrorist groups. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub23 section (a) shall include— 

24 (1) a list of Palestinian terrorist groups— 


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1 (A) that receive financial assistance or 

2 training primarily from Iran; or 

3 (B) over which Iran exerts undue influ4 ence; 

5 (2) a list of foreign persons who are members 

6 of— 

7 (A) Hezbollah’s Shura Council; 

8 (B) Hezbollah’s Executive Council; 

9 (C) Hamas’s Politburo; 

10 (D) Hamas’s Shura Council; and 

11 (E) Palestine Islamic Jihad’s Shura Coun12 cil; 

13 (3) a determination, with respect to each for14 eign person listed in paragraph (2), whether, during 

15 the relevant reporting period, that person knowingly 

16 ordered, controlled, or otherwise directed the use of 

17 civilians protected as such by the law of war to 

18 shield military objectives from attack; and 

19 (4) for every positive determination under para20 graph (3), if sanctions have not been imposed on the 

21 foreign person under the Sanctioning the Use of Ci22 vilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115– 

23 348), an explanation why such sanctions were not 

24 imposed. 


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1 (c) RELEVANT REPORTING PERIOD DEFINED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘relevant reporting period’’ means— 

3 (1) for the first report— 

4 (A) in the case of members of Hamas or 

5 Hezbollah, since the date of the enactment of 

6 the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as De7 fenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115–348; 50 

8 U.S.C. 1701 note); and 

9 (B) in the case of members of Palestine Is10 lamic Jihad, since the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act; and 

12 (2) for subsequent reports, since the date of the 

13 last report. 

Æ 


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