Yerushalayim Court Rules PA Must Pay NIS 500M to Terror Victim Families

The Yerushalayim District Court ruled on Friday that the Palestinian Authority must pay NIS 500 million ($142 million) to the family members of those killed in Palestinian terror attacks.

Judge Moshe Drori ruled last year that the PA was liable for damages of up to NIS 1 billion ($284 million), since which time the Shurat Hadin legal organization worked to prove damages on behalf of eight families representing 17 complaints in which 34 Israelis were murdered, Hy”d, and seven wounded, mostly between the years 2000 and 2002.

While some of the attacks also involved the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, the court is holding the PA liable based on its statements taking credit for all Second Intifada terrorist attacks, and on its providing support for the groups carrying out the attacks, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Due to what it said were the complex diplomatic implications, the court ruled that the amount would be just NIS 500 million for now, with payment spread over time, according to the report.

The money will come from the PA’s “pay to slay” funds, as well as the customs tax that the PA pays Israel each month.

Following the ruling, Shurat Hadin President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner maintained that the organization will not end the fight until there is justice for the victims of terror.

“Convicting the terrorists does not end with their imprisonment, as long as the Palestinian Authority [continues to fund them] and encourages acts of terrorism. The Palestinian Authority will know that there is a price for the blood on its hands, a very expensive price, and now it will need to pay,” she said.