Tuesday, February 24, 2015

U.S. Jury Orders Palestine to Pay $218 Million to Victims of Attack in Israel

2/24/2015

NEW YORK – A federal jury in New York on Monday ordered the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to pay $218.5 million to victims of several attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004, local media reported.

The court considered the two organizations responsible for the attacks and ruled in favor of a group of American victims seeking compensation under civil law.

The monetary compensation awarded Monday might well be tripled because under U.S. law, those attacks are considered terrorist actions.

The jury’s verdict puts an end to a legal battle that has gone on for almost a decade and that was finally tried this year in a Manhattan court.

The lawsuit was entered by more than 40 American victims of seven attacks around Jerusalem, in which 33 people were killed and many others were wounded during the second Intifada.

The plaintiffs were supported by the 1991 Anti-Terrorism Act, a federal law that allows U.S. victims of international terrorist attacks to file lawsuits with federal courts.

The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization were charged with responsibility for planning and executing the attacks, something the two organizations denied at all times.

The Palestinians also argued that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction to judge what happened in the Middle East.


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