The United States Justice Department, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the FBI, led by Director Kash Patel, on Monday announced the official creation of a task force to investigate Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. They will also investigate potential civil rights violations and acts of antisemitism for those supporting the group in the U.S.
While the administration of former President Joe Biden announced charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and several other senior Hamas leaders last September, the new task force will pursue charges against other Hamas leaders responsible for the attacks, assist victims and hostage families and investigate U.S.-based Hamas supporters and funders.
A previous report in The Jerusalem Post about the “Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7),” said that the task force will specifically seek the arrest and extradition of senior Hamas officials Ali Baraka and Khaled Meshaal.
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“The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win — and there will be consequences,” Bondi said in a statement announcing the task force.
“JTF 10-7 will focus on targeting, charging, and securing for prosecution in the United States the direct perpetrators of the October 7 attack,” the statement said.
According to the memorandum that created the task force, agents and prosecutors participating in JTF 10-7 will investigate and prosecute “acts of terrorism, antisemitic civil rights violations, and other federal crimes committed by Hamas supporters in the United States, including on college campuses,” as well as investigate and prosecute “those responsible for funding Hamas.”
Additionally, the group will also contain professionals who provide “services to the victims of the October 7 attack” and those who coordinate “as appropriate with others to facilitate the return of hostages.”
Most of the counter-terror agents will come from the FBI, while attorneys and other supervisors will primarily come from the Justice Department.
The memorandum also specifies that the task force will “spearhead engagement with Israeli counterparts.” Practically, that means that FBI agents will cooperate with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing.
The announcement of the task force comes as President Donald Trump has issued a “last warning” to Hamas to release the remaining hostages, while also targeting universities and student groups over campus antisemitism.
In a statement, Patel called the task force a “collaborative initiative between agencies” meant “to accomplish our vital counterterrorism mission.”
According to a report in Axios, the task force will be led by a senior counterterrorism prosecutor, a senior FBI special agent and an FBI intelligence analyst acting under the supervision of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.
This article was originally published by All Israel News.
ALL ISRAEL NEWS is based in Jerusalem and is a trusted source of news, analysis and information from Israel to our Christian friends around the world.
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