‘Iran is fighting us on a seven-front war,’ Netanyahu tells JINSA delegation
The first thing that the Jewish state must do is to defeat Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a delegation of retired U.S. Jewish military leaders at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv last week.ADL, victims sue Iran, Syria and North Korea over Oct. 7 support
“People who do this thing to us are not going to be there. We have a long battle,” he told the delegation from the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “I don’t think it’s that long, but we’ll get rid of them.”
Netanyahu added that “Iran is fighting us on a seven-front war: Obviously, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, the militias in Iraq and Syria, Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, Iran itself.
“They’d like to topple Jordan. Their goal is to have a combined ground offensive from various fronts, coupled with a combined missile bombardment,” he said.
Netanyahu added that Israel must “deter the other elements of the Iran terror axis.
“But we have to deal with the axis. The axis doesn’t threaten only us. It threatens you,” he said. “It’s on the march to conquer the Middle East. Conquer the Middle East. Conquer. That means, actually, conquer. Conquer Saudi Arabia, conquer the Arabian Peninsula. It’s just a question of time.”
The Anti-Defamation League filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, alongside more than 100 American victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and their family members, accusing Iran, Syria and North Korea of providing material support for the attacks.The peace campaigner who came to kill
The lawsuit ultimately seeks compensation for the victims and their families, which would likely be paid out from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism fund. It accuses the three rogue states of providing military, tactical and financial support to Hamas.
“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of antisemitism and terror — along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We are doing everything possible to hold Hamas terrorists and those who support them accountable, including putting all of ADL’s weight behind this effort.”
Greenblatt said he’s hoping that the case will “bring justice” for some of the victims and “create a record” of the Hamas atrocities, as supported by foreign states.
One plaintiff, Nahar Neta, whose mother, Adrienne Neta, was a U.S. citizen who immigrated to Israel in the early 1980s and was killed in Kibbutz Beeri, said, “While nothing will ever undo the unbearable pain Hamas caused our family or recover the brutal losses we’ve suffered, we hope this case will bring some sense of justice.”
“It’s important for us to be able to tell our stories so the world can hear how Hamas has terrorized Israel, the Jewish people, and many American citizens,” Neta continued.
ADL filed the case with law firm Crowell & Moring. It’s the first such case filed since the Oct. 7 attack and the largest of its kind, the ADL said in a statement. James Pasch, ADL’s senior director of national litigation and the group’s lead counsel on the case, noted in a statement that Iran, Syria and North Korea have all been held responsible in U.S. courts for their support for attacks harming U.S. citizens, and adding that there’s “clear evidence” that each supported Hamas. Crowell & Moring has been involved in terrorism cases relating to the UTA flight 772 bombing and bombings of U.S. embassies in Beirut and Nairobi, Kenya, and said it has won $18 billion in judgments.
Eight months before Machmud arrived at Batia Holin’s home to kill her, the two had jointly launched an exhibition aimed at promoting peace and unity between Israelis and Palestinians.
After connecting through a Facebook group for residents on the Israel-Gaza border, the pair spent months sharing pictures on WhatsApp of daily life from both sides of the fence. This seemingly heartfelt exchange blossomed into a poignant exhibition entitled Between Us, dedicated to bridging the divide. Due to the dire risks involved, they never spoke directly. ‘Normalisation’ (interacting with Jews) is the most serious crime a Gazan can commit.
“We didn’t discuss politics,” Batia tells me as we walk along the Gaza barrier fence on the outskirts of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Machmud – who told her he was a 28-year-old photographer from the Gazan town of Shuja’iyya – was one of 300 Hamas terrorists who breached the border on the morning of October 7 and entered her kibbutz.
The 71-year-old, who has lived on the kibbutz for more than 50 years, has dedicated her life to coexistence. The idea of collaborating with a Palestinian across the border, someone who experienced the same sights and sounds yet lived a vastly different reality, deeply resonated with her sense of purpose.
“Machmud and I wanted to show the world that, despite the circumstances in which we live, we share the same hope for a brighter future. That despite the obstacles, most people on both sides of the fence just want to live in peace.” Batia Holin beside a banner displaying pictures of hostages from Kibbutz Kfar Aza that remain in captivity.
Their exhibition opened in Israel on 4 February 2023 in nearby Kibbutz Nahal Oz (where 14 people were killed and seven abducted), with plans for it to tour the United States. One of its most striking exhibits was photographs of the Mediterranean Sea, showing the same beach border from opposite perspectives: one looking north, the other south.
Machmud was, of course, unable to be there in person, so he wrote Batia a touching email: “I hope this project will influence and improve understanding, quality of life and security on both sides of the fence. I hope that with the help of my photos, Israeli society and the whole world will know that the Gaza Strip is not only a place of rockets and missiles but a place worth living in. I hope that with the help of my photos, Israeli society will see that in Gaza the people are simple, love life and are not fighters and terrorists. This exhibition, for me, is hope for a peaceful life.”
Today, in the wake of such unimaginable brutality, Batia’s dreams seem heartbreakingly naïve. Her faith has been so profoundly shattered that she fears there may not be a single adult in Gaza who shares her vision of peace. “The hardest feeling is the sense of total betrayal,” she tells me.
“The sense that everyone in Gaza was involved, even those who claim to oppose Hamas. I realise how awful that sounds. It truly is awful. But I cannot think anything else today. The past 17 years since Hamas took over Gaza have been difficult and it’s got worse over time. Before the attack, people called life here 90 percent heaven, 10 percent hell. Now it just feels like hell.”
Batia heard Machmud’s voice for the very first time at 10am on October 7 when she received a phone call from an Israeli number she did not recognise. He told her he was inside the kibbutz and asked if Israeli soldiers were nearby.
“I was so confused,” recalls Batia with a shudder. “At first, I thought Machmud must have heard about the attack and was calling out of concern. It didn’t take long to realise he had a different reason. He wanted to cause me harm. I didn’t speak to him. I just hung up. I didn’t have time to think about the call until two days later. Terrorists were everywhere. My husband and I were just trying to survive. Later, I gave all the details I had about Machmud to the army. His phone number, personal information he’d shared, screenshots of our chats. I have no idea what happened to him.”