Barq Gaza / New York / Agencies
Translation/ Tareq Hamdan
The Federal Court of Appeal in New York activated a 2015 ruling in the case of Sokolov v. Palestinian Authority, which requires the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Authority to pay financial compensation of $655.5 million.
U.S. judicial sources said the verdict came against charges related to attacks that took place during the second intifada period.
This development came after an unprecedented decision by the US Supreme Court in May 2025, which recognised the existence of legal jurisdiction for US courts to consider cases related to “international terrorism” against the Palestinian Authority.
The roots of the case date back to 2004, when 10 American families filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, against the background of those events.
In 2015, a jury ruled on their responsibility for the attacks, with the obligation to pay the aforementioned compensation.
Later, the Palestinian Authority appealed the judgement, based on the lack of American jurisdiction, which was accepted by the Court of Appeal at the time, considering that the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and the United States was insufficient to consider the case, which led to the annulment of the judgement.
