The role of Qatar in the Israel-Hamas war has been a focus of great concern, including in the pages of this newspaper. On the one hand, Qatar has played, and continues to play, a valuable role in mediating the release of Israeli hostages.
On the other hand, we cannot ignore the fact that Qatar has continued to allow the leaders of Hamas to live securely in its country. To grant asylum to men who have organized mass murder is, Qatar would have us believe, an illustration of its neutrality and of the advantages it can provide the West when they need to deal with Hamas.
It seems that in all of its solicitous dealings with Qatar, the Biden administration has forgotten the following important facts that should have been front and center following October 7 and continuing until today: More than thirty American citizens were murdered on that bloody day – and a number of Americans are still being held hostage.
Immediately after the attack, Qatar offered to be an honest broker, and the Biden administration took them up on this, with Secretary of State Blinken flying to Doha and praising Qatar’s efforts. Yet did anyone stop to ponder the strange situation that while Blinken was meeting with the Qatari leaders to try to find a solution to the hostage crisis, the men responsible for it were comfortably ensconced, with full protection, not far from where these meetings were taking place?
Faced with this embarrassing scenario, what Blinken should have done, and which can still be done, is to deliver an ultimatum. Or, for those who prefer a softer touch, the secretary of state can make the Qataris an offer they can’t refuse, as America still has the power to make such offers: Deliver to us immediately the leaders of Hamas so they can stand trial for the murder of American citizens. If you do not do so, then as a country harboring terrorists who murdered Americans, Qatar will face the consequences, the details of which can be spelled out in private.
Here's a deal for Hamas leaders: release the hostages, and you can escape justice
It is hard to see how Qatar could reject such a demand, if it is delivered with the appropriate teeth. It is even harder to accept that the United States refuses to demand the extradition of murderers of Americans when they are so easily within reach. What kind of country have we become when we allow the murderers of our citizens to live freely, especially when a formal request for extradition, coupled with a firmness to judge Qatar by its response, will almost certainly produce the result we desire?
After the Hamas leaders are delivered to American custody, they will be held awaiting trial for their crimes. As the Hamas leadership will no doubt wish to avoid life sentences, a simple solution is available so that they can return to their lives of luxury. Qatar can negotiate the following deal: If Hamas releases the hostages, then the Hamas leadership in US custody will be freed. If Hamas refuses to do so, then the terrorist kingpins will be tried and sentenced as any other terrorist who has killed US citizens.
The writer holds the Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton.