Bereaved Families Sue PA for NIS 210M Over Terror Support

By Yoni Weiss

Dozens of bereaved families, including those who lost loved ones in the past year, have filed a claim with the Yerushalayim District Court for NIS 210 million against the Palestinian Authority. The lawsuit alleges that the PA initiates, supports, and encourages terrorism against Israeli citizens and rewards terrorists and their families with significant financial payments based on the formula: “More blood equals more money.”

The plaintiffs include families of victims from recent attacks, such as the attack in Elad on Independence Day two years ago, the Nova massacre on Oct. 7, and numerous other serious incidents.

This lawsuit is the first filed since the new law for compensating victims of terror was passed in March. The law allows victims of terrorism to sue those funding and encouraging terrorism, with compensation of NIS 10 million per family of a murder victim and NIS 5 million for those wounded.

The lawsuit states: “The defendant (the Palestinian Authority) encouraged, supported, and ratified these acts of terrorism by paying rewards to the perpetrators and their families.” It also alleges that the PA engages in terrorism through military organizations, initiates attacks, incites violence, imprisons those countering terrorism, and provides financial and material support to terrorists.

The families also hold the PA responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre, claiming that the PA’s actions and support for terrorism have led to ongoing attacks culminating in the recent massacre, where about 1,400 civilians and soldiers were murdered and around 240 people were kidnapped to Gaza. The lawsuit highlights that the PA rewards those involved in such attacks.

Attorney Barak Kedem, representing the plaintiffs, stated, “The war on terror is currently concentrated in two areas: the Gaza Strip and the courtrooms. We fight the encouragement of terrorism by the Palestinian Authority, which pays huge salaries to terrorists in exchange for the blood they shed. We will fight on all fronts until victory.”