NEW YORK (AP) — A $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities has been reinstated by appeals judges, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.
The decision from the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes a decade after it initially dismissed the verdict on the basis that U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction in lawsuits against foreign entities for overseas attacks not directed at the U.S.
However, this latest ruling is influenced by a Supreme Court decision made last June that upheld a law allowing these victims to pursue cases against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
“We conclude that the original judgment for the plaintiffs should be reinstated,” stated the appellate judges in their decision dated March 30.
According to attorney Kent Yalowitz, representing the plaintiffs, there’s a sense of relief as families have been patiently awaiting justice for over two decades.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling after 22 years of persistent litigation.
The plaintiffs sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act, created in 1992 to allow U.S. courts to hear cases involving international terrorism. They claim that Palestinian agents were complicit in the attacks or instigated them.
Contrastingly, Palestinian representatives have long argued that such cases should not be entertained in American courts. The legal battle continues as further commentary from defendants' attorneys is awaited.
