Washington: The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In which a stay was sought on the order to pay compensation of $655.5 million (about Rs 6,244.77 crore) to the families of American citizens killed and injured in terrorist attacks in Israel in the 2000s.
According to Russia’s international news television network Russia Today (RT), Justice Sonia Sotomayor dismissed the appeal on Monday without comment, leaving the lower court’s compensation award in effect.
The PA and PLO argued in their appeal that paying such a large sum would put the Palestinian economy in serious trouble.
They said this would increase unemployment, impact essential services such as health, education, the justice system and public safety, and increase the risk of instability and violence in the West Bank.
The case involves lawsuits filed by American families whose loved ones were killed or injured in six terrorist attacks in Israel during the Second Intifada between 2002 and 2004. In 2016, a federal appeals court overturned an earlier ruling on jurisdictional grounds.
However, the case was revived in 2019 after Congress passed legislation that granted American citizens who were victims of terrorist attacks abroad the right to sue for compensation. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of this law.
Meanwhile, the West Bank is already facing a severe financial crisis. Israel is withholding a large portion of the tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel alleges the money is used to fund terrorism, while the Palestinian Authority calls it a “financial siege.”
Experts believe that if the full compensation amount is recovered, it could further increase the financial pressure on the Palestinian Authority, while the legal and political dispute between the two sides over the matter is likely to continue.