Hamas on Wednesday issued a statement strongly condemning a resolution adopted by the US House of Representatives which declined to refer to "Israel" as a "racist or apartheid" regime.

On Tuesday, the House passed the resolution with an overwhelming 412-9 vote. The legislation was passed in response to statements issued last Saturday by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in which she referred to "Israel" as a racist state. 

According to the statement issued by Hamas, which was published by the Palestinian Information Center, the resolution has "ignored the black history of the Zionist occupation, which is filled with dozens of massacres."

It further read that the resolution blatantly denies an immense trove of crimes perpetrated by the settlers recently committed in the town of Huwara in the north of the Occupied West Bank and in dozens of Palestinian villages that were exposed to "arson attacks and organized destruction of homes, vehicles and farms."

The crimes effectively reflect "the racist practices and the ethnic cleansing policy that are pursued by the occupation against the Palestinian people," the statement further said, while also citing several instances of "fascist positions" voiced by Israeli officials, including finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Smotrich had earlier said that Palestinians should either live in the occupied territories "as second-class citizens or be banished or killed."

"Such a US resolution will not change the reality of the criminal and racist Zionist occupation entity, which relies on ethnic cleansing, displacing the rightful owners of the land and replacing them with intruders,” it added.

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"Israel" has been practicing apartheid against Palestinians since 1948. In 1967, "Israel" conquered 78% of Palestine through wars and genocide, which is 40% more than what was allocated to it by the UN as per the Palestine-Partition plan.

The regime has since then established a judicial system allowing settlers to expropriate Palestinians from their lands and build illegal settlements in their stead. 

Israeli Occupation Forces bulldozers roam on a near-daily basis, forcing Palestinians from their homes, destroying their possessions, as the occupation forces them to pay for the demolition of their own homes. 

It is noteworthy that the US has long been defending and supporting "Israel", its closest ally, by providing the occupying entity with military aid and training as well as diplomatic cover to continuously commit crimes against Palestinians.

"Israel" receives at least $3.8 billion in US aid annually.

Most importantly, the US allocates billions of dollars to repair and replenish the Israeli occupation's Iron Dome air security system.

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