The document includes Yahya Sinwar, the deceased Ismail Haniye, the supposedly dead Marwan Issa and Mohamed Deif, Khaled Meshal and Ali Baraka
September 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The US government on Wednesday charged six leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for their involvement in the attacks on Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead, including 40 Americans, and 240 hostages, including some of its citizens.
“The Department of Justice has charged Yahya Sinwar (current leader) and other senior Hamas leaders with financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger U.S. national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
In addition to Sinwar, the document also includes the names of former leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran in August, as well as the head of the group’s military wing, Mohamed Deif — whose death has been confirmed by Israel but not by Hamas — the organization’s “No. 3” Marwan Issa — also reportedly killed in an Israeli strike but not confirmed by Hamas — the group’s leader abroad, Khaled Meshal, and Ali Baraka, Hamas’ head of National Relations Abroad.
The Department of Defense charges them all with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization with deadly results, conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism with deadly results, conspiring to murder U.S. citizens outside the United States, conspiring to bomb a public place with deadly results, conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction outside the United States, conspiring to finance terrorism outside the United States, conspiring to bomb a public place with deadly results, or conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, among others.
Penalties for these charges can range from death to life in prison to 20 years in prison; a federal district judge will determine the sentence after considering the country’s Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
“Hamas has pursued its goals through countless acts of brutal terrorist violence, including the launching of thousands of rockets specifically targeting civilian populations; suicide bombings targeting restaurants, markets, public transportation systems, and other public spaces; and military-style attacks on cities and residential communities. Hamas’s terrorist campaign has killed and injured citizens of Israel, the United States, and many other countries,” the letter said.
He has also accused Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of “feeding” Hamas’ activities by providing supplies and training, just as he has done with the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah.
Finally, the Justice Department noted that Hamas raises money to finance its activities through anonymous payments in cryptocurrencies, which it manages to collect through the use of social media and other platforms.
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