(New York, N.Y.) —Today, Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and CEP President Frances F. Townsend released the following statement to mark six months since October 7.
“Yesterday marked six months since the Jewish people suffered its worst catastrophe since the Holocaust when 1,200 men, women and children were slaughtered in cold, calculating blood. The pain has not faded with the passage of time, however, knowing that 134 hostages abducted on October 7 are still being held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In recent weeks, we have learned that these terrorist savages are subjecting female hostages to systematic rape.
“This is an abhorrent stain on the conscience of the world, whose increasing ire is targeted against Israel and not Hamas. Indeed, much of the international community has not even censured the terrorist group for its atrocities, while Israel is all too often the sole focus of denunciation embodied in UN resolutions and ICJ pronouncements.
“No matter the prevailing global political winds, we remain steadfast in our beliefs: Hamas alone is to blame for the chaos and destruction that has ensued, against Israelis and Palestinians alike, since it launched its brutal assault six months ago. As we have consistently reaffirmed, the only sure-fire way to end the carnage is for Hamas to lay down its arms and release all the hostages—two actions it could take today.
“It is Hamas, therefore, that must be held accountable, as well as its financial and political sponsors in Doha and Tehran.
“We again demand that the Al-Thani family in Qatar prove it has any worth as a purported U.S. ally by pressuring its Hamas friends to release the hostages which include Americans. Doha’s repeated assertion that it has no leverage over Hamas—to whom it has given more than $1 billion over the past ten years—is a lie as brazen as it is offensive. Qatar’s much-vaunted prowess in hostage mediation has proven predictably hollow, a not-surprising realization when its interests lie in protecting the hostage-takers, as opposed to the hostages.
“The Al-Thanis have hosted and funded Hamas and provided a base for Islamic extremists. The Al-Thanis and Qatar must immediately detain and remand Ismael Haniyeh, Khaled Meshal, and the Hamas politburo into U.S. or Israeli custody, ensure the immediate return of all hostages, and end their support for Hamas and other extremist groups.
“CEP stands with the hostages and their families. The onus for their release lies squarely upon Hamas and its primary patron, Qatar.”