NASHVILLE, TENN. – Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), along with co-chairs and co-founders of the Abraham Accords Caucus and Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), led a letter to the United Nations (UN) urging them to designate Iranian-backed Hamas as a terrorist organization following the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th.
“Recent events have demonstrated that Hamas’ actions, tactics, and stated goals are in many ways indistinguishable from Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations the United Nations has sanctioned. Therefore, we write to urge you to bring a resolution to the UN Security Council recognizing and imposing sanctions on Hamas as a terrorist organization,” wrote the Senators.
“Since October 1997, the US Department of Treasury has designated Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Additionally, these groups have been listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) since October 2001. Numerous other countries and international entities rightfully have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Israel, the Organization of American States, Paraguay, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Switzerland is also actively exploring legal avenues to designate Hamas as a terrorist entity,” they concluded.
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CO-SIGNERS: |
- Joining Blackburn, Lankford, and Rosen in sending the letter were Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
View the full letter here.