The U.S. Department of Justice’s charges against Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, which it unsealed on Tuesday are “a good start, but there’s much more to be done,” stated Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.).
“We need to stand fully with our ally Israel as they work to eliminate the Hamas thugs,” added the member of the House Armed Services Committee.
The congressman was one of many who praised the department’s decision, though some said it was long overdue.
“How this took nearly 11 months and the execution of an American citizen, I will never understand,” stated Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “But as I called for this over the weekend, I applaud it.”
“Now we need to see large rewards posted. And demands for extradition. Khaled Mashaal was just in Turkey and lives in Qatar. He and others should be taken into custody immediately,” Goldberg added. “I want to see a full campaign to advertise money and relocation for Sinwar’s head all over Gaza.”
The Biden administration’s actions “should have been done on Oct. 8,” Goldberg wrote. “The execution of an American citizen should not have been a forcing function for the United States government to act. Much more must be done beyond this still—starting with major pressure on every Hamas state sponsor and enabler.”
“Ask the Biden-Harris administration what steps they will be taking tomorrow to increase pressure on Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, etc.,” he wrote. “Ask them for specific steps they are taking to make these regimes feel pain and to translate that pain into pressure on Hamas. Ask now.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stated that Oct. 7 “was not only an attack on Israelis.”
“Americans were murdered at the hands of Hamas, and Americans are still being held hostage,” Schumer wrote. “The Justice Department is absolutely right to seek justice.”
Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor who is running for Senate, wrote that “America must stand strong with our greatest ally, Israel, and hold Hamas accountable for their horrific terrorist acts.”
Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, noted that “some of those charged are dead, but others like Khaled Mashal reside in non-NATO ally Qatar.”
“They should be handed over to U.S. custody,” he wrote. “Interestingly, the indictment notes that at least one of the defendants ‘is expected to be first brought to and arrested in the Southern District of New York.’”
Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District, noted that the “Biden Justice Department filed criminal charges against the same people whom the Biden White House is demanding that Israel make a deal with.”
“That’s actually a perfect summary of American foreign policy today,” Petlin wrote.
Dumisani Washington, founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, stated that the charges come nearly a year after Oct. 7. He added that the Council on American-Islamic Relations is linked to Hamas, and unless the federal government is charging CAIR too, “this is more theater.”
He added that it is a “sick joke” unless Washington is also cutting off funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which he said is connected to Hamas. (Israel has charged that some UNRWA employees participated directly in the Oct. 7 attack.)
Ezra Cohen, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute who focuses on intelligence policy, wrote that the federal terror charges were good news.
The U.S. government “must immediately seek to extradite those charged from Qatar. Qataris who aid and abet Hamas leaders must also face charges,” he wrote. “Lastly, the Justice Department should use civil asset forfeiture to seize property of those charged.”
