Attorneys for some 250 Israelis affected by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre have filed a record-breaking lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority for its support for terrorism, it became known on Tuesday
The terrorism victims and families of those murdered during the Oct. 7 attacks, represented by the Jerusalem-based Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm, are demanding 1.75 billion shekels ($462 million) in compensation.
The claim comes on top of a 210 million shekel ($55 million) suit filed three months ago with the Jerusalem District Court by dozens of Israelis whose relatives were killed in recent years, including in the ax attack in Elad on Independence Day in 2022 and the Oct. 7 slaughter at the Supernova festival near the Gaza Strip.
The suits were filed under the “Compensation for Terror Victims Law,” passed by the Knesset in March. The law requires courts to award punitive damages of at least 10 million shekels per fatal casualty.
“Not only did the P.A. fail to take steps to thwart terror acts, as it pledged to do in international agreements, but it also instigated, supported and financed terrorism,” the claim submitted to the Jerusalem District Court this week states. “It continued to incite terror organizations, and, among other things, instigated the murderous attack in October 2023, while financing and supporting terrorists and their families.”
As part of the ongoing legal proceedings, the court approved the plaintiffs’ request to seize 410 million shekels ($108 million) from frozen P.A. funds to ensure payment if the families win the lawsuit.
Under agreements signed with the PLO in the 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs duties on behalf of the P.A.
To ease the collection of potential punitive awards by victims and their families, court judgments may be enforced against any property of the defendant, including any property seized or frozen by the State of Israel.
“This is the way to fight terror—by drying up its funding. By awarding punitive damages to the victims, we aim to end the financial and logistical support for terror,” said Barak Kedem of Arbus, Kedem, Tzur.
The remarks referred to the P.A.'s “pay for slay” policy, under which it disburses monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and to the families of slain terrorists. This Martyrs’ Fund is enshrined in Palestinian law, granting terrorists or their heirs the right to receive payment as long as they live.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip, the P.A. has added thousands of Palestinians to its list of those who qualify for terrorist stipends, an Israeli watchdog reported in January.
P.A. officials announced that 3,550 more terrorists imprisoned in Israel would qualify for payouts, as will the families of more than 20,000 slain “martyrs,” according to Jerusalem-based Palestine Media Watch NGO.
