US Supreme Court won’t halt $656 million judgment against Palestinians over terror attacks

Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to halt a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority and PLO in a US civil lawsuit over terror attacks in Israel from 2002 to 2004. The judgment was reinstated after the Supreme Court upheld a 2019 law. The PA warned of severe financial harm to West Bank services.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the US Supreme Court declined to halt a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in a civil lawsuit brought by victims of terror attacks in Israel from 2002 to 2004. The attacks, which occurred during the Second Intifada, killed 33 people in Jerusalem and wounded hundreds. The judgment was originally won in 2015 but was thrown out in 2016 on jurisdictional grounds. After Congress passed the 2019 Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, the Supreme Court upheld the law in June 2025, and the 2nd Circuit reinstated the judgment in March. The PA and PLO argued that enforcing the judgment would cause severe financial harm and destabilize government services in the West Bank, where the PA is already cash-strapped. They noted that plaintiffs intend to seek payment from indirect Palestinian tax revenue collected by Israel, which Israel has withheld. The plaintiffs' attorneys said families were pleased and relieved, allowing 'justice to be done.' The PA called the judgment a 'nullity' after appeals were exhausted in 2018.