Supreme Court Unanimously Agrees Victims Can Sue Palestinian Groups

The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated long-standing lawsuits brought by American victims who were killed or injured in terrorist attacks in the Middle East against Palestinian authorities.

The justices unanimously upheld a 2019 law passed by Congress that explicitly permits these legal actions to proceed against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority.

The lawsuits stem from multiple attacks, including several from the early 2000s that killed 33 people and injured hundreds, and a 2018 incident in which a U.S.-born Israeli settler was fatally stabbed by a Palestinian outside a shopping mall in the West Bank.

Victims and their families allege that Palestinian operatives were either directly involved in or incited the attacks. Palestinian officials, however, have consistently argued that such cases should not be tried in American courts.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has repeatedly sided with the PLO and Palestinian Authority, despite Congressional amendments intended to enable victims’ access to justice. In 2016, the appeals court overturned a $654 million jury verdict in favor of the victims, ruling that U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction over foreign-based organizations in cases involving random attacks not explicitly directed at the United States.

The victims brought their claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992, a law enacted in response to the 1985 killing of American citizen Leon Klinghoffer during a hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship. The law was designed to provide a legal avenue in U.S. courts for victims of international terrorism.

In the initial trial, a jury found the PLO and Palestinian Authority liable for six separate attacks and awarded $218 million in damages—an amount that was automatically tripled under the statute. After the Supreme Court declined to hear the victims’ appeal in 2018, Congress revised the law once more to reaffirm its intent that American victims of terrorism should have access to U.S. courts.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.