US Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill demanding that the State Department explain exactly what it did to investigate the circumstances of the killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab, and whether any Americans were involved, The Hollywood Reporter stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cJustice for Hind Rajab Act\u201d will have to go through committees and floor debates in both chambers of Congress before it comes to a vote. It undoubtedly faces an uphill battle in a Republican-dominated legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rajab was a six-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza whose agonizing death at the hands of Israeli soldiers on 29 January 2024 has become symbolic of the widespread violations of international humanitarian law committed during Israel\u2019s genocide in the enclave, where over 72,000 Palestinians have been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The text of the bill, which is being introduced by Peter Welch in the Senate, and Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs in the House, says that if it is enacted into law, the secretary of state and the secretary of war will be compelled to produce a report within 45 days that explains whether the killing ran afoul of the US Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Leahy Law prohibits the US from providing arms or military assistance to foreign militaries that violate human rights. The US State Department has an \u201cIsrael Leahy Vetting Forum\u201d as part of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers also want to know the identities of the Israeli soldiers who took part in Rajab\u2019s killing, and whether any of them are also US citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill effectively demands that the US government hand over everything it knows about the incident, including whether the Department of Justice ever investigated human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince October 7, 2023, the United States has provided more than $21,700,000,000 in military assistance to Israel, which has funded a majority of the expenses needed by the Israel Defense Forces to conduct the war in Gaza,\u201d the bill says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAccording to information from the Government of Israel, an estimated 10,000 people from the United States were activated for the war in Gaza,\u201d it adds. \u201cAccording to reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Biden administration had repeatedly referred reporters to the government of Israel when asked about investigations into Rajab and other alleged war crimes in Gaza, but critics have pointed to that approach as a stalling and diversion tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe same day the Justice for Hind Rajab Act is being introduced in Congress, Israel has announced it is dropping its prosecution into the on-camera rape and torture of a Palestinian detainee at the notorious Sde Teiman facility,\u201d the US-based advocacy organization, A New Policy, wrote on X on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A New Policy was founded by two US officials who resigned because of the Biden administration\u2019s unconditional support for Israel\u2019s assault on Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s obvious \u2013 Israel can\u2019t be trusted to investigate itself,\u201d A New Policy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we need international bodies like the International Criminal Court (currently under US sanctions) to pursue their case, why we need to apply the Leahy Law to Israel, & why we need Bills like the Justice for Hind Rajab Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jayapal and Welch hosted a screening of the Oscar-nominated film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, on Capitol Hill last month. It is expected to win the international film category at Sunday\u2019s awards ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill\u2019s timing is likely to capitalize on that spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfolding over the course of 24 hours and set entirely at a Palestine Red Crescent Society call centre, 52 miles from Gaza, The Voice of Hind Rajab is a docu-fiction hybrid that dramatizes the efforts of Palestinian aid workers to save the pleading child on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An investigation in June 2024 revealed that Rajab and five of her family members were targeted with 335 Israeli army bullets as they attempted to flee northern Gaza in their car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For three hours, Hind was the sole survivor, trapped alongside her slain relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Desperate for help, she called the Palestinian Red Crescent, but paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun were both killed by Israeli forces before they could rescue her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A harrowing recording of Hind\u2019s final phone call, released after the incident, captured her chilling pleas: \u201cI\u2019m scared of the dark, come get me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It formed the basis for the highly acclaimed film, which has already received awards on the festival circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IMAGE CREDIT: A person holds a portrait of Hind Rajab during the red carpet arrivals for the film \u2018The Voice of Hind Rajab\u2019 presented in competition at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido, Italy, on 3 September 2025 (Tiziana Fabi\/AFP)
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