Palestinian Authority and PLO Ordered to Pay $655 Million to Terror Victims

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The jihad terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and its partner in crime, the “moderate” Palestinian Authority (PA), have just been hit in their pocketbooks.

The PLO is itself a terror group. The PA is a supporter of terrorism through its “Pay-For-Slay” program, that provides generous stipends to imprisoned terrorists, and to the families of terrorists who died while committing their attacks. In a suit brought by the families of Americans killed or injured in these terror attacks, a jury decided that the PLO and the PA were liable under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

That original finding was overturned in 2023 on appeal, with the appeals court concluding that American courts lacked jurisdiction because the attacks occurred overseas. But just now, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated  the original judgement requiring that the PLO and the PA pay the plaintiffs $655.5 million. More on this colossal victory can be found here.

A US federal appeals court on Monday [March 30] reinstated a whopping $655.5 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), delivering a major legal victory for American victims seeking to hold the groups responsible for the notorious “pay-for-slay” terrorism program.

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit restored a jury’s earlier finding that the PLO and PA bore civil liability under the Anti-Terrorism Act for a series of attacks in Israel that killed and injured US citizens.

In its opinion, the court recalled its previous mandate vacating the initial decision, writing that doing so was warranted by “intervening changes in underlying law” and the need to prevent an unjust outcome after years of litigation. The panel emphasized that appellate courts retained the authority to revisit earlier decisions in “extraordinary circumstances,” a standard it found satisfied in this case.

The judges also addressed the issue of jurisdiction, which had previously served as an obstacle in the case.

In 2023, a federal appeals court ruled that US courts did not have the authority to hear certain lawsuits against the PLO and the PA stemming from terrorist attacks abroad that killed or injured American citizens. In a decision issued by Second Circuit court, the panel concluded that Congress could not compel foreign defendants to face litigation in US courts without sufficient ties to the country, dealing a significant setback to victims seeking damages through American legal channels.

It may be difficult to enforce the judgment for the full amount, but the PLO and the PA have some assets, reputedly including office buildings in Washington, that could be seized. In 2018, the U.S. froze all PLO assets; those assets could now be unfrozen and used to pay the plaintiffs in this case. The PA is also believed to have hidden assets in this country in the name of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF). Experts in financial forensics should be able to locate those assets for the American government to seize. It’s not possible to estimate how much can be recovered, but any amount will be welcome.

Such a judgment should now cause great alarm among other terrorist groups, especially Hamas and Hezbollah, that will now worry about their own hidden assets that may be within reach of the American government, for both groups have wounded or killed American citizens.

And still to come: a judgment against Saudi Arabia, potentially with an award of up to one trillion dollars for both the survivors, and for the families of the 2,996 people killed on 9/11. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi citizens, and Saudi government agents, specifically individuals such as Fahad al-Thumairy and Omar al-Bayoumi, provided essential assistance to them. The help given by Saudi officials included, but was not limited to, finance. There was logistical help as well. There was evidence, for example, of a Saudi official casing the Capitol, filming it from various sides as a possible target.

The Saudi government has refused to cooperate in any way, and has not made available any of its citizens for interrogation. But the lawyers for the 9/11 families are dogged, and the potential payout will keep them laser-focused on the case. Terrorism, it turns out, can be a very expensive proposition. What really makes a deep impression, when you are dealing with the amoral, is any perception of pain to their pocketbooks.