ADL sues Iran, Syria, North Korea for aiding Hamas' attack on Israel
July 2 (UPI) -- The Anti-Defamation League is suing Iran, Syria and North Korea in a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit on allegations they provided material support that Hamas used to commit its surprise attack on Israel.
Announced Monday, the pro-Israel lobby group and anti-semitism watchdog filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of 125 U.S. citizens who were victims of the Oct. 7 attack or family members of U.S. citizen victims.
The lawsuit is seeking no less than $4 billion dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.
"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of anti-semitism and terror -- along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest anti-semitic attack since the Holocaust," Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director, said in a statement.
Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 250 more on Oct. 7 when it launched its surprise and gruesome attack on Israel.
The lawsuit, based on publicly available information, states that Hamas could not have carried out such a complicated and calculated attack without "the support and sponsorship" of Iran, Syria and North Korea.
It also states that the three countries "knew Hamas would use its support and resources to carry out attacks, such as the Oct. 7 attack."
"The terrorists were not an independent band of marauders. They were organized death squads deployed by their terrorist organizations and supported, funded and supplied by their terrorist-sponsoring countries, who have consistently supported and sponsored terrorist attacks on Americans and their allies, including Israel, and continue to do so today," the lawsuit states.
The ADL said that its lawsuit seeks to hold those responsible for the Oct. 7 attack to account under the Terrorism Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
However, such lawsuits are often ignored by the defendant countries, but it could be a way for the defendants to secure compensation from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, a fund created by Congress to compensate individuals who are victims of terrorism.
"There is more than ample precedent for this case: U.S. courts have repeatedly held Iran, Syria and North Korea responsible for material support of terrorist attacks that harmed U.S. and dual U.S.-Israeli citizens," James Pasch, ADL senior director of National Litigation and ADL's lead counsel on this case, said in a statement.
"There is also clear evidence that these state sponsors of terrorism provided material support to Hamas terrorists that enabled the terrorists to commit the atrocities on Oct. 7."
Israel has responded to Hamas' attack by waging a brutal war against the Iran-backed militia in Gaza that has so far killed nearly 38,000 Palestinians, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry
