J Street welcomes the Justice Department’s announcement of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against senior Hamas leaders responsible for mass atrocity crimes, including the murder of over 40 American citizens.
“Hamas is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of civilians and for inflicting terror, grief and repression on many, many more – Israelis, Palestinians and Americans alike,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said. “We commend the Biden-Harris Administration for bringing these charges, for spelling out Hamas’ crimes clearly, and for demonstrating America’s unwavering commitment to justice.”
The move comes following a week in which Hamas killed six hostages they had held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American. J Street supports every effort by the Justice Department to investigate these crimes – and the murders of over 40 other Americans on October 7 – and to seek to hold the perpetrators accountable.
As Attorney General Merrick Garland has said: “The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations. These actions will not be our last.”
J Street continues to support a robust, government-wide approach aimed at marshaling all diplomatic, legal and strategic tools to isolate Hamas from political, financial and ideological support and to ensure the horrors of October 7 can never be repeated.