Washington – US Intervenes In Lawsuit Over Palestinian Terror Attacks

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    FILE  -ewish volunteers collect debris after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a bus in Jerusalem March 27, 2001.REUTERSWashington – The Obama administration has intervened in a lawsuit over Palestinian attacks that have killed Americans, advising a judge that requiring a hefty bond payment in the case could financially destabilize the Palestinian government.

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    The filing comes in a case in New York City, where a jury this year awarded $218.5 million to survivors and victims’ relatives in a case brought against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. That amount is automatically tripled under the Anti-Terrorism Act, lawyers have said.

    By intervening, the government said it was trying to strike a balance between its support for the rights of terrorism victims to be compensated and concerns that a large bond imposed while the verdict is on appeal would weaken the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority and undermine “several decades of U.S. foreign policy.”

    “Senior U.S. officials have made clear to other governments that if the PA were to collapse, we would be faced with a crisis that would not only impact the security of Israelis and Palestinians, but would potentially have ripple effects elsewhere in the region,” Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a sworn declaration filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

    The Justice Department filed a formal “statement of interest” in the case at the behest of the State Department, federal officials have said.

    The plaintiffs have requested that the Palestinian government deposit $30 million per month while the case is on appeal. They say the Palestinian Authority has the money to make those payments.

    “We are gratified that the Department of Justice supports the rights of survivors of international terrorism to enforce their rights and collect the judgment but disappointed that the State Department failed to take any stand against the PLO and PA’s policy of putting convicted terrorists on their payroll as soon as they are jailed,” Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “If the PA has enough money to pay convicted terrorists, it has enough to pay the judgment in this case.”

    The case was brought by American families and concerns a series of bombings and shootings between 2002 and 2004. Jurors heard dramatic testimony from relatives of people killed and survivors who never fully recovered.


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    17 Comments
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    8 years ago

    Of Course Obama (this is HIS justice dept) does not care in the least about the victims of Arab terrorism (IF they happen to be Jews) Does anybody need any more proof that Obama is no friend of Jews?

    bennyt
    bennyt
    8 years ago

    If this isn’t the clearest example of Obama’s anti-Semitism, what is?

    albroker
    albroker
    8 years ago

    so AGAIN Obama comes in and interfers with the so called rule of law to hurt Jews and help terrorists.

    8 years ago

    Um, if George W. Bush were still president, his administration would have done the exact same thing. As Bush always said when asked why the U.S. funds the PA, “because otherwise there would be chaos and Hamas would take over the West Bank.” So please, all you simpletons with such short memories, show a little nuance and sophistication in your thinking and stop crying “anti-Semitism” at the drop of a hat. (And no, I’m not a liberal who voted for Obama.)

    8 years ago

    Unfortunately, Obama’s anti-Semitism is not newsworthy. We have observed that from the beginning of his presidency. What is becoming more clear, though we must have noticed it earlier, is his tacit support for terror. He has denied all forms of truth and morality, refusing to acknowledge most of the recent acts of terror as coming from Islam. And he is staunch about insuring that Iran have the means to support world terror. Even more so, the deal makes it a crime to attribute terror to Iran. It is frightening to see just how corrupt and evil someone can be, no less the POTUS. Now, do we still wonder how the current WH was going to miss an opportunity to allow the justice system to make the guilty pay? If the guilty are Muslims, let them off the hook.

    8 years ago

    a MUSLIM is a MUSLIM even when he is in the White House!!!!!!!!

    Benny
    Benny
    8 years ago

    Thank you Mr. President for the standing up for the rights of the victims…oops…terrorists!?
    I thought we fight the terrorists, I just realized our “dear” Present fights the victims of the terrorists, and supports the terrorists!

    ComeOn
    ComeOn
    8 years ago

    This should be the lead story everywhere in America today. This overreach by this illegitimate administration should result in immediate impeachment hearings by Congress. Of course that will never happen in a Boehner/McConnell led Republicrat Congress.

    8 years ago

    If this isn’t proof positive that Obama is more a muslim than an American, nothing is. Lowlife,

    8 years ago

    Notice how the Obama loving racists (yonosonw, bewhiskered, and co. Are nowhere to be found?