The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to rule on the legality of a 2019 federal law. intended to facilitate lawsuits against Palestinian authorities by Americans killed or injured in attacks in Israel and elsewhere.
The judges accepted appeals filed by President Joe Biden’s administration and a group of American victims and their families against a lower court ruling that ruled that this law violated the rights of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to due process under the United States Constitution.
The law is called the Law to Promote Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism.
The highest court is expected to hear arguments in the case and rule at the end of June. The decision to hear the case occurred during the Gaza war, in which Israel launched an air and ground attack on the Hamas-ruled enclave after Palestinian militants raided Israeli border communities in October 2023.
For years, American courts have debated whether they have jurisdiction in cases involving the Palestinian Authority and the PLO for actions taken abroad. According to the language at issue in the 2019 law, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority would automatically “consent” to jurisdiction if they conduct activities in the United States or make payments to people who attack Americans.
The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court litigation include families who in 2015 won a $655 million judgment in a civil case alleging that Palestinian organizations were responsible for a series of shootings and bombings around Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004. Officials and employees of the two organizations planned, directed and participated in these attacks, according to the plaintiffs.
The Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling in 2016, finding that U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction over the Palestinian defendants.
Congress subsequently passed the Act to Promote Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism and Families, as well as relatives of Ari Fuld, a Jewish settler from the Israeli-occupied West Bank who was fatally stabbed by a Palestinian in 2018. , filed new lawsuits.
A federal judge based in New York ruled in 2022 that the law was unconstitutional due to due process violations.
The plaintiffs asked the 2nd Circuit to revive their claims, but it refused, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We are encouraged that the court has accepted the case for review, and our families hope that the sentence in their favor will be restored and justice will be served for the horrific attacks they suffered.“said Kent Yalowitz, an attorney representing the families in the case.
A lawyer who representing the two Palestinian organizations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
