Pramila Jayapal condemns Israeli strike that killed Hamas terrorist who worked for Al Jazeera

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is facing renewed backlash after condemning Israel for killing a senior Hamas operative who also worked as an Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza.

In a post on Sunday, Jayapal wrote on social media, “The Israeli military has killed more than 200 journalists and media workers. The latest strike killed 5 journalists, including a prominent Al Jazeera journalist. The US must stop providing weapons for this genocide.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the strike killed Anas Al-Sharif, an active Hamas member since 2013 who facilitated rocket attacks, according to military intelligence. The IDF says it recovered personnel rosters, militant training records, phone directories, and salary documents linking Al-Sharif to the terror group.

Also killed were another Al Jazeera reporter, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, some of whom reportedly had terror ties.

The IDF noted that “precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence” were used to minimize civilian casualties. Al-Sharif, who had over 500,000 social media followers, posted on X just minutes before his death, claiming “bombings had been going on for the last two hours.” Pro-Israel advocates have circulated images of Al-Sharif with slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and posts from October 7, 2023, in which he praised Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians.

Last October, Israel identified Al-Sharif as one of six Gaza-based journalists allegedly tied to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan dismissed those claims as “unsubstantiated” and warned his life was in danger. Israel has since banned Al Jazeera, accusing it of serving as a Hamas propaganda arm.

Jayapal, who previously called Israel a “racist state,” has backed multiple bills to restrict US weapons sales to Israel, citing Palestinian casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. She has also promoted the support of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group the Justice Department named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in US history.

The 2008 Holy Land Foundation case revealed millions were funneled to Hamas through Muslim charities. CAIR was linked to the network, with critics like terrorism expert Steve Emerson calling it “a Hamas front group” and the Anti-Defamation League stating, “Antisemitism is in the DNA of CAIR.”

CAIR’s reputation took another hit after its co-founder, Nihad Awad, celebrated Hamas’ October 7 atrocities. The Biden administration later removed CAIR from its White House antisemitism task force.