Too little, too late: Why the US delayed charging Hamas for decades - opinion

The US Justice Department’s decision on Tuesday to bring charges against members of Hamas for the deaths of Americans, including the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, is, without question, a long-overdue step toward accountability.

However, as families of victims process this news, one unavoidable question looms: Why now? Hamas murdered its first known American victim, 20-year-old Alisa Flatow, in April 1995, in a suicide bombing. Flatow, a college student from New Jersey, was studying abroad in Israel when Hamas attacked the bus she was on. What took so long for the wheels of justice to finally turn? These charges, though significant, are too little, too late.

Hamas has been a recognized threat since its founding in 1987. Over the years, the organization has been responsible for a brutal campaign of violence, targeting civilians in Israel and the broader region, with Americans often among the casualties. Many of these victims – innocent tourists, students, and dual citizens – were killed in terror attacks designed to inflict maximum carnage. For decades, families waited for some form of justice, while the United States government’s response remained muted.

Why has it taken so long for the Justice Department to act?

Hamas was designated a terrorist organization by the US in 1997, while its violent tactics were no secret, even long before. The tools to bring charges against Hamas operatives responsible for the deaths of US citizens have always existed. The US has a long history of prosecuting foreign actors for crimes against its citizens, yet Hamas appears to have escaped this scrutiny for years.

Troubling questions

This raises troubling questions about the priorities of past administrations.

The answer likely lies in a combination of geopolitics, diplomacy, and shifting foreign policy agendas. For decades, US administrations have tried to balance their approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with broader Middle Eastern strategies, sometimes prioritizing diplomatic efforts over direct legal action against groups like Hamas. It is possible that prosecuting Hamas was seen as politically risky, with concerns that it could derail peace negotiations or provoke further conflict.

Yet this delay has sent a damaging message. To the families of American victims, it says that their loved ones’ deaths were not a priority, since justice was deferred for too long, even when the blood of US citizens was spilled.

For decades, Hamas’s violent actions have carried little immediate consequence from the world’s most powerful nation. The terror organization’s leaders have operated with relative impunity, emboldened by the lack of direct action.

Now, with charges finally being brought, the US government is attempting to right a wrong – but the impact of this move is severely diminished. Many of the Hamas leaders responsible are either dead, in hiding, or living in territories beyond the reach of US law. Extraditing key figures is a long shot, at best. The passage of time has only made the path to justice more complicated and less likely to yield meaningful results. Even if prosecutions were to happen, they would be more of a symbolic victory than a tangible one.

Justice delayed is justice denied. The right time to pursue these charges was when the murders first occurred, when the trail was fresh, and when bringing those responsible to account could have had a real deterrent effect. By waiting this long, the Justice Department’s actions, though commendable, feel like a hollow gesture. They offer little consolation to grieving families.

Bringing charges against Hamas now is not without merit – it signals that the US does not forget its murdered citizens. But it is impossible to overlook how much more powerful and effective this action would have been if it had come years, or even decades, earlier.

The families deserved better.

The writer, based in Florida, frequently visits Israel. He has written about religion, culture, and the Middle East for The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Reuters, and other outlets. X: @elifederman