I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2590 

To promote and protect the human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli 

military occupation and to ensure that United States taxpayer funds 

are not used by the Government of Israel to support the military detention of Palestinian children, the unlawful seizure, appropriation, and 

destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in 

the West Bank, or further annexation of Palestinian land in violation 

of international law. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2021 

Ms. MCCOLLUM (for herself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

CARSON, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

TLAIB, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 

and Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote and protect the human rights of Palestinians 

living under Israeli military occupation and to ensure 

that United States taxpayer funds are not used by the 

Government of Israel to support the military detention 

of Palestinian children, the unlawful seizure, appropriation, and destruction of Palestinian property and forcible 

transfer of civilians in the West Bank, or further annexation of Palestinian land in violation of international 

law. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending the Human 

5 Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under 

6 Israeli Military Occupation Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Approximately 3,000,000 Palestinians live 

10 in the West Bank, of which around 45 percent are 

11 children under the age of 18 who have lived their en12 tire lives under Israeli military control. 

13 (2) In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, there 

14 are two separate and unequal legal systems, with 

15 Israeli military law imposed on Palestinians and 

16 Israeli civilian law applied to Israeli settlers. 

17 (3) Children are entitled to special protections 

18 and due process rights under international human 

19 rights law and international humanitarian law. 

20 (4) Israel has ratified the Convention on the 

21 Rights of the Child, which states— 

22 (A) in article 37(a), that ‘‘no child shall be 

23 subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or 

24 degrading treatment or punishment’’; 


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1 (B) in article 37(b), that the arrest, deten2 tion or imprisonment of a child ‘‘shall be used 

3 only as a measure of last resort and for the 

4 shortest appropriate period of time’’; 

5 (C) in article 37(c), that ‘‘every child de6 prived of liberty shall be treated with humanity 

7 and respect for the inherent dignity of the 

8 human person, and in a manner which takes 

9 into account the needs of persons of his or her 

10 age’’; and 

11 (D) in article 37(d), that ‘‘[e]very child de12 prived of his or her liberty shall have the right 

13 to prompt access to legal and other appropriate 

14 assistance, as well as the right to challenge the 

15 legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty 

16 before a court or other competent, independent 

17 and impartial authority, and to a prompt deci18 sion on any such action’’. 

19 (5) The Government of Israel and its military 

20 detains around 500 to 700 Palestinian children be21 tween the ages of 12 and 17 each year and pros22 ecutes them before a military court system that 

23 lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due proc24 ess in violation of international standards. 


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1 (6) Israeli security forces detain children under 

2 the age of 12 for interrogation for extended periods 

3 of time even though the prosecution of children 

4 under 12 is prohibited by Israeli military law. 

5 (7) Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 

6 2020, reported that ‘‘Israel denied Palestinian chil7 dren arrested and detained in the West Bank legal 

8 protections granted to Israeli children, including set9 tlers, such as protections against nighttime arrests 

10 and interrogations without a guardian present. 

11 Israeli forces frequently used unnecessary force 

12 against children during arrest and physically abused 

13 them in custody.’’. 

14 (8) The Israeli human rights organization 

15 HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual 

16 issued a report in October 2020 examining night ar17 rests of Palestinian children by Israeli forces in the 

18 West Bank finding that Israeli authorities continue 

19 ‘‘to send soldiers to arrest Palestinian teenage boys 

20 at night as a measure of first resort for bringing 

21 them in for interrogation. This injurious, traumatic 

22 practice leaves the teenagers broken in body and 

23 soul, while thwarting the possibility of a fair interro24 gation and almost guaranteeing a conviction.’’. 


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1 (9) The Israeli human rights organization 

2 B’Tselem issued a report in 2018 describing the 

3 treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli mili4 tary occupation: ‘‘Every year, hundreds of Pales5 tinian minors undergo the same scenario. Israeli se6 curity forces pick them up on the street or at home 

7 in the middle of the night, then handcuff and blind8 fold them and transport them to interrogation, often 

9 subjecting them to violence en route. Exhausted and 

10 scared—some having spent a long time in transit, 

11 some having been roused from sleep, some having 

12 had nothing to eat or drink for hours—the minors 

13 are then interrogated. They are completely alone in 

14 there, cut off from the world, without any adult they 

15 know and trust by their side, and without having 

16 been given a chance to consult with a lawyer before 

17 the interrogation. The interrogation itself often in18 volves threats, yelling, verbal abuse and sometimes 

19 physical violence. Its sole purpose is to get the mi20 nors to confess or provide information about oth21 ers.’’. 

22 (10) The State Department’s 2016 Annual Re23 port on Human Rights Practices noted the renewed 

24 use of ‘‘administrative detention’’ against Palestin25 ians, including children, a practice in which a deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590

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1 tainee may be imprisoned indefinitely, without 

2 charge or trial, by the order of a military com3 mander or other government official. 

4 (11) The nongovernmental organization De5 fense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) 

6 documented 36 Palestinian children detained and 

7 placed in administrative detention, or detention 

8 without charge or trial, since Israel renewed the 

9 practice against minors in October 2015. 

10 (12) DCIP collected affidavits from 610 West 

11 Bank children who were detained by Israeli forces 

12 from the West Bank between 2016 and 2020, and 

13 concluded that— 

14 (A) 73 percent of the children endured 

15 physical violence following arrest; 

16 (B) under Israeli military law, children do 

17 not have the right to a lawyer during interroga18 tion; 

19 (C) 97 percent of the children did not have 

20 a parent present during their interrogation; 

21 (D) 67 percent of the children were not 

22 properly informed of their rights by Israeli po23 lice; 


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1 (E) interrogators used stress positions, 

2 threats of violence, and isolation to coerce con3 fessions from detained children; and 

4 (F) 135 children were held in pre-trial, 

5 pre-charge isolation for interrogation purposes 

6 for an average period of 15 days. 

7 (13) Amendments to Israeli military law con8 cerning the detention of Palestinian children have 

9 had little or no impact on the treatment of children 

10 during the first 24 to 48 hours after an arrest, when 

11 the majority of their ill treatment occurs. 

12 (14) Israel’s drive to perpetuate its control over 

13 the occupied West Bank results in other serious vio14 lations of international law, including the unlawful 

15 demolition of Palestinian homes and the forcible 

16 transfer of Palestinian civilians. 

17 (15) The destruction of property in an occupied 

18 territory is prohibited under international humani19 tarian law, unless absolutely necessary for military 

20 operations. 

21 (16) The Israeli Committee Against Home 

22 Demolitions reports that Israel has demolished more 

23 than 48,000 Palestinian structures since 1967, of 

24 which 24,000 are estimated to be homes. 


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1 (17) Palestinian properties are subject to demo2 lition or confiscation as part of Israeli-imposed plan3 ning and zoning regimes in Area C and East Jeru4 salem and other parts of the West Bank, and sub5 ject to punitive demolition following an incident of 

6 violence against Israeli military and police forces, 

7 settlers, or other civilians. 

8 (18) Palestinians are required to obtain Israeli9 issued building permits and the lack of permits is 

10 typically cited as the reason for demolitions or 

11 confiscations, even though, due to the restrictive and 

12 discriminatory Israeli planning regime, Palestinians 

13 are overwhelmingly denied permits and therefore 

14 forced to build without the necessary permits. 

15 (19) From 2016 to 2018, 98.6 percent of the 

16 1,485 building permit applications that were sub17 mitted by Palestinians in Area C were rejected, with 

18 only 21 applications approved. 

19 (20) Palestinians are allowed to build in less 

20 than one percent of Area C and in only about 15 

21 percent of East Jerusalem. 

22 (21) Palestinian homes and structures located 

23 in Area C and East Jerusalem and other parts of 

24 the West Bank are under constant threat of demoliVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590

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1 tion from the moment construction begins and are 

2 often demolished with little notice. 

3 (22) The United Nations Office for the Coordi4 nation for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 

5 in January 2021 that during 2020, Israeli authori6 ties demolished or seized 851 structures across the 

7 West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 

8 1001 Palestinians as a result, including over 524 

9 children. This is the highest number of home 

10 demolitions since 2016. 

11 (23) OCHA noted that one of the major trends 

12 observed in 2020 was the increased use of military 

13 orders and other legislation, preventing or limiting 

14 the ability of Palestinians to legally challenge the 

15 targeting of their homes and sources of livelihood in 

16 Israeli courts. 

17 (24) OCHA reported in February 2021 that 53 

18 schools in the West Bank, which are attended by 

19 5,200 children, are subject to demolition orders 

20 issued by Israeli authorities. 

21 (25) Demolitions clearly and deliberately under22 mine the prospects for a just and lasting peace be23 tween Israel and the Palestinians and create oppres24 sive conditions that leave Palestinians with no other 

25 choice than to leave their homes and lands. 


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1 (26) Punitive demolitions function as an act of 

2 collective punishment against the families of sus3 pects or perpetrators and create insecurity in the 

4 surrounding communities. Though Israeli authorities 

5 maintain that punitive demolitions are a means of 

6 achieving security, Israel does not demolish the 

7 homes of Israelis who have committed crimes 

8 against Palestinians as part of its policy. 

9 (27) The restrictive and discriminatory Israeli 

10 planning regime undermines rights and guarantees 

11 in international human rights law and international 

12 humanitarian law and facilitates unlawful acts and 

13 policies, including destruction of property and forc14 ible transfer of civilians, expropriation of land and 

15 natural resources, illegal settlement expansion, and 

16 further annexation of Palestinian land. 

17 (28) Jewish-only settlements established by the 

18 Government of Israel in the occupied West Bank, in19 cluding East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and 

20 constitute a flagrant violation under international 

21 law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a 

22 just and lasting peace between Israel and the Pal23 estinians. 

24 (29) Unilateral annexation of any part of the 

25 occupied West Bank by the Government of Israel is 


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1 a flagrant violation of international law and a pro2 hibited act of aggression under Article 2(4) of the 

3 United Nations Charter. 

4 (30) Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of 

5 United States foreign assistance since World War II, 

6 receiving from the United States $146,000,000,000 

7 (current, or noninflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilat8 eral assistance and military funding. 

9 (31) In 2016, the United States and Israeli 

10 governments signed a new 10-year Memorandum of 

11 Understanding (MOU) on military assistance, cov12 ering fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2028. 

13 (32) Under the terms of the MOU, the United 

14 States pledges to provide $38,000,000,000 in mili15 tary assistance ($33,000,000,000 in Foreign Mili16 tary Financing grants plus $5,000,000,000 in mis17 sile defense appropriations) to Israel, replacing a 

18 previous $30,000,000,000, 10-year agreement that 

19 ran through fiscal year 2018. 

20 (33) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

21 2021 (Public Law 116–260), provides the following 

22 for Israel: 

23 (A) $3,300,000,000 in Foreign Military 

24 Financing (FMF), including $795,300,000 mil25 lion designated specifically for procurements in 


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1 Israel, commonly referred to as ‘‘offshore pro2 curements’’. 

3 (B) $5,000,000 in Migration and Refugee 

4 Assistance (MRA) for refugee resettlement. 

5 (C) Reauthorization of War Reserve Stock 

6 Allies-Israel (WRSA–I) through 2023. 

7 (D) $500,000,000 in missile defense, of 

8 which $73,000,000 is for Iron Dome, 

9 $177,000,000 for David’s Sling, $77,000,000 

10 for Arrow 3, and $173,000,000 for Arrow 2. 

11 (34) The sale and export of United States-ori12 gin defense articles and defense services to foreign 

13 countries are governed by an extensive set of laws, 

14 regulations, policies, and procedures, including au15 thorizations and reporting requirements in both the 

16 National Defense Authorization Acts and in the 

17 State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related 

18 Programs Appropriations Acts. 

19 (35) Congress has authorized sales to the Gov20 ernment of Israel under the Foreign Assistance Act 

21 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151, et seq.) and the Arms Ex22 port Control Act of 1976 (22 U.S.C. 2751, et seq.). 

23 (36) The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (22 

24 U.S.C. 271, et seq.) generally prohibits foreign coun25 tries from using funds made available under the Act 


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1 for procurement outside the United States. However, 

2 each year since 1991, varying amounts of FMF 

3 grants have been designated for offshore procure4 ments in Israel. 

5 (37) In 1991, the Government Accountability 

6 Office, formerly the General Accounting Office, 

7 issued a report to the Committee on Foreign Rela8 tions of the Senate examining United States military 

9 funding to Israel, which specifically audited Israel’s 

10 expenditures for offshore procurements and assessed 

11 whether the executive branch had complied with leg12 islative requirements. 

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) actions by the Government of Israel in the 

16 occupied West Bank, including the detention and 

17 prosecution of Palestinian children in the Israeli 

18 military court system, the seizure, appropriation, 

19 and destruction of Palestinian property and forcible 

20 transfer of civilians, and further annexation of Pal21 estinian land in violation of international law and 

22 internationally recognized standards of human 

23 rights— 

24 (A) are contrary to the values of the Amer25 ican people and the efforts of the United States 


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1 to support self-determination, human rights, 

2 and dignity for both Palestinians and Israelis; 

3 and 

4 (B) undermine efforts by the United 

5 States to achieve a just and lasting peace be6 tween Israel and the Palestinians; 

7 (2) promoting human rights, human dignity, 

8 and democratic rights for all Palestinians and 

9 Israelis are foreign policy priorities of the United 

10 States; and 

11 (3) the United States rejects any undemocratic 

12 system or act of aggression in which Israel unilater13 ally exercises permanent rule over a Palestinian peo14 ple denied self-determination and human rights. 

15 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

16 It is the policy of the United States not to support 

17 actions by the Government of Israel involving— 

18 (1) the military detention of Palestinian chil19 dren in violation of international law; 

20 (2) the seizure, appropriation, and destruction 

21 of Palestinian property or the forcible transfer of ci22 vilians in the occupied West Bank in violation of 

23 international law; or 

24 (3) further annexation of Palestinian land and 

25 property in violation of international law. 


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1 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, none of the funds authorized to be appro4 priated or otherwise made available for assistance to the 

5 Government of Israel may be obligated or expended for 

6 any of the following: 

7 (1) Supporting the military detention, interro8 gation, abuse, or ill treatment of Palestinian chil9 dren in violation of international humanitarian law 

10 or to support the use against Palestinian children of 

11 any of the following practices: 

12 (A) Torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrad13 ing treatment. 

14 (B) Physical violence, including restraint 

15 in stress positions. 

16 (C) Hooding, sensory deprivation, death 

17 threats, or other forms of psychological abuse. 

18 (D) Incommunicado detention or solitary 

19 confinement. 

20 (E) Administrative detention, or imprison21 ment without charge or trial, as described in 

22 section 2(10). 

23 (F) Arbitrary detention. 

24 (G) Denial of access to parents or legal 

25 counsel during interrogations. 


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1 (H) Confessions obtained by force or coer2 cion. 

3 (2) Supporting the seizure, appropriation, or 

4 destruction of Palestinian property and forcible 

5 transfer of civilians in the Israeli-controlled and oc6 cupied West Bank in violation of international hu7 manitarian law. 

8 (3) Deploying, or supporting the deployment of, 

9 personnel, training, services, lethal materials, equip10 ment, facilities, logistics, transportation, or any 

11 other activity to territory in the occupied West Bank 

12 to facilitate or support further unilateral annexation 

13 by Israel of such territory in violation of inter14 national humanitarian law. 

15 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than September 30, 

16 2021, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the Com18 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

19 and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee 

20 on Foreign Relations of the Senate one of the following 

21 with respect to the preceding fiscal year— 

22 (1) a certification that none of the funds obli23 gated or expended in the previous fiscal year for as24 sistance to the Government of Israel have been used 

25 by such Government to support personnel, training, 


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1 lethal materials, equipment, facilities, logistics, 

2 transportation, or any other activity that supports or 

3 is associated with any of the activities prohibited 

4 under subsection (a); or 

5 (2) a certification that funds obligated or ex6 pended in the previous fiscal year have supported or 

7 been associated with one or more activities prohib8 ited under subsection (a), along with a report de9 scribing in detail the amount of such funds used by 

10 the Government of Israel in violation of such sub11 section and each activity supported by such funds. 

12 SEC. 6. OVERSIGHT AND ADDITIONAL REPORTING. 

13 The Secretary of State shall include, in each report 

14 required under section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

15 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n)— 

16 (1) a description of the nature and extent of de17 tention, interrogation, abuse, or ill treatment of Pal18 estinian children by Israeli military forces or police 

19 in violation of international humanitarian law; 

20 (2) a description of the nature and extent of the 

21 seizure, appropriation, or destruction of Palestinian 

22 property in the Israeli-controlled and occupied West 

23 Bank by Israeli authorities in violation of inter24 national humanitarian law; and 


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1 (3) a description of the nature and extent of 

2 Israeli settlement activities, including an assessment 

3 of the compliance of the Government of Israel with 

4 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 

5 (2016). 

6 SEC. 7. GAO REPORT ON ISRAEL’S EXPENDITURES FOR 

7 OFFSHORE PROCUREMENT. 

8 Not later than September 30, 2021, and annually 

9 thereafter, the Comptroller General shall prepare and sub10 mit to Congress a report that— 

11 (1) identifies the specific programs and items 

12 funds for offshore procurement in Israel have been 

13 allocated to, including specific armed forces 

14 branches, units, and contractors; 

15 (2) assesses executive branch compliance with 

16 legislative requirements governing offshore procure17 ments in Israel; 

18 (3) identifies, in detail, all end-use monitoring 

19 the Government of Israel is subject to with respect 

20 to United States-origin defense articles; and 

21 (4) analyzes the effects of offshore procure22 ments on Israel’s military budget and domestic econ23 omy since 1991, including an assessment of the 

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1 rectly or indirectly supported illegal Israeli settle2 ment activity in the occupied West Bank. 

Æ 


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