A US district court in DC found Iran and Syria liable for the 2018 death of American Ari Fuld who was fatally stabbed by a Hamas terrorist in the West Bank, according to court documents obtained by the Jerusalem Post.
Judge Royce Lamberth determined Iran and Syria owe Fuld’s family a total of $191 million for their material support of Hamas.
On Sept. 16, 2018, Fuld was shopping in the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank when he was targeted by a Hamas terrorist wielding an eight-inch blade, court documents said. After stabbing Fuld multiple times in the back and neck, the teenage terrorist attempted to harm a woman at a nearby shop. However, Fuld managed to chase and shoot the terrorist, according to court documents.
The court said it found satisfactory evidence to establish that Hamas was responsible for the attack that killed Fuld, including online posts in which Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The court also found the terrorist sought out an “English-speaking Israeli soldier of American origin.”
Supporting attacks on civilians
Iran and Syria “intentionally supported and encouraged a proxy actor who specifically sought to inflict violence upon innocent civilians,” Lamberth wrote.
In a statement, Richard Heideman, senior counsel of Hdideman Nudelman & Kalik PC, said it’s poorly understood in a post October 7 context how Hamas specifically targets Americans and English speakers, not just Israelis.
“Israel-bashers want the world, including Americans, to believe that when Americans or Westerners are killed, injured or taken hostage in Israel, it is simply a by-product of the conspiratorial lie that
Hamas’s conduct is merely ‘justified resistance’. It is not.” Heideman said in the statement. “The conduct of Hamas and its patrons, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and others who provide fuel for their terror is reprehensible and violative of international law.”