Lawsuit Against Iran; Interview with the Father of an American Victim of Hamas Attack

Itai Chen was a 19-year-old American-Israeli citizen serving in the Israeli Defense Forces at the border with the Gaza Strip. On March 13 last year, the Israeli army announced that Itai Chen was believed to have been killed during a Hamas attack and that his body had been taken to Gaza. He is not the only one whose body was taken to Gaza. In the attack on October 7 last year, Itai was one of the individuals taken hostage by Hamas, a group that the U.S. and the European Union classify as terrorist. The Israeli army has stated that as long as the bodies of these individuals are not returned, they will still be considered hostages. Itai's family is among the families of American victims of the Hamas attacks on October 7 and the war in Gaza, who filed a lawsuit against Iran on November 18, presenting documents related to the Islamic Republic's support for these attacks. Ruby Chen, Itai's father, told Radio Farda that the families, in addition to seeking justice, aim to prevent such incidents from happening again. Mr. Chen also emphasizes that the families seek to prove that supporting 'terrorism' benefits no one. The October 7 attack resulted in about 1,200 deaths, including 46 American citizens. Ruby Chen stated, 'After September 11, this was the largest terrorist attack against American citizens. Prior to that, there were attacks in the 1980s.' In the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, about three thousand people were killed. The Al-Qaeda group, recognized as terrorist by the international community, claimed responsibility for those attacks. Ruby Chen further mentioned, 'As civilians, we can also strive for justice. We believe that the path to justice is to work towards dismantling the global terrorism support network that has enabled Hamas to build a war machine. Instead of using funds to build hospitals and schools, they have invested in weapons, which they have used not only to kill American citizens but also to kill nationals from 20 countries in addition to Israelis.' Ruby Chen stated that the families of American victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks provided documents to the U.S. Attorney's Office showing that the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the supporters of the extremist group Hamas. He noted that a date for the trial will be set and that it is likely Iran will not send a lawyer to defend itself. Therefore, there is a collection of Iranian-owned assets and deposits, and if new assets and deposits are seized, they will be distributed among those who are part of the families of the victims of the attack. Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Liberation Front are groups mentioned in this lawsuit, all of which are recognized by the United States as 'foreign terrorist organizations.' This lawsuit is partially based on documents that the Israeli army recently announced it had obtained from Gaza tunnels. The New York Times noted that these documents had previously been reviewed and reported on, stating, 'It appears that the plaintiffs' lawyers have obtained the 'original documents' related to a December 2022 meeting.' One of the documents provided by the Israeli army to the media reportedly pertains to a secret meeting of a small group of Hamas political and military leaders in December 2022, where Yahya Sinwar, the then-leader of Hamas, requested an additional seven million dollars per month from the Revolutionary Guard to finance a 'big project.' Ruby Chen stated that 'achieving justice' is not the only goal of filing the lawsuit, saying, 'We want to do everything we can to ensure that such events do not happen again in the future and that no American citizen has to endure the pain and suffering that my family and I have had to endure. We want to say that supporting terrorism benefits no one, and we hope our action will not only stop Iran but also create a barrier against other countries that support the global terrorism network.' Mr. Chen also pointed out in another part of the interview with Radio Farda that 'support for terrorism' is not only carried out by governments. He stated that 'money is collected under the guise of charity from people,' mentioning that 'there are large amounts of accumulated money in countries like Turkey, Kuwait, and Indonesia that have been collected for Hamas. They are just waiting to transfer this money to Gaza.' Ruby Chen also spoke about the cooperation of the U.S. Attorney with the families, stating, 'We met with the Attorney General of the United States, who has the authority to take actions independent of the government. He is the one who can provide us with lawyers to obtain the necessary reports and documents.'