Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Sunday that Palestinian Authority government payments to terrorists and their families constitutes authorization of the terrorist attacks.
The ruling is significant because it means that when a victim is injured in such an attack, he can now sue the Palestinian Authority.
Authorization of such attacks by the Palestinian Authority means the Ramallah government is liable for any damages and/or deaths that result.
The Supreme Court Justices ruling in favor of this determination were Judge Yitzhak Amit and Judge David Mintz. The third Justice, Ofer Grosskopf, opposed the ruling.
Justice Amit ruled with the support of Justice Grosskopf that the Palestinian Authority would not, however, be liable to the punitive damages resulting from such an attack. Here, Justice Mintz was in the minority.
The bottom line is this: The Supreme Court ruled that the Palestinian Authority approves of terrorists’ actions by paying them and their families money for carrying out the attacks.
Due to this, the Palestinian Authority will be held liable by Israel’s highest court for the damages of the victims of terrorism, but the justices ruled that punitive damages should not be imposed.
