New York Court Orders Palestinian Authority to Pay $655.5 Million to Intifada Victims
The federal Court of Appeals in New York has reinstated a 2015 judgment requiring the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay $655.5 million in damages to victims of terrorism from the Second Intifada. This decision reverses a previous ruling by the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016, which dismissed the case due to jurisdictional issues. The case, known as Sokolow v. the Palestinian Authority, was initially filed in 2004 by families of victims of terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada. The plaintiffs argued that the PLO and PA financed and orchestrated these attacks, which included bombings in Jerusalem. The case was based on the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows for civil lawsuits against entities that support terrorism. The recent ruling was influenced by a 2025 US Supreme Court decision affirming US courts' jurisdiction over international terrorism claims against the PA. 
