Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has decided: Israel will not grant diplomatic immunity to the Palestinian Authority against civil suits that demand compensation for its involvement in fatal terror attacks.

In accordance with the Foreign Minister's decision, Israeli courts will now continue to be able to hear cases in which relatives of terrorist victims are suing the PA for monetary compensation.  Some 55 such cases are currently pending.

If the PA becomes a state, it would automatically receive the immunity it seeks.

Livni Left Them in Limbo

The Supreme Court had previously ruled, in July 2007, that the determination as to whether the PA deserves such immunity lies in the hands of the Foreign Minister.  However, Minister Livni made no decision either way for several months - leaving the plaintiffs in limbo as to whether their cases could proceed. 

Finally, a week ago, the families took the unprecedented step of filing a court order demanding that Livni be arrested - or, alternatively, fined.  The families, represented by the Israel Law Center, maintained that Livni was in "contempt of court" for not fulfilling the requirement of making a decision one way or the other.

Several days later, Livni issued her decision - stating that the Palestinian Authority does not enjoy diplomatic immunity from being judged in Israel. 

The Families

Among the families currently suing the PA for involvement in the murder or maiming of their loved ones are:

• that of Vadim Norzitch, one of the two victims of the Ramallah lynching in October 2000;

• the Cohen family, three of whose children lost legs in the Kfar Darom bus bombing in November 2000;

• the parents of two Tel Aviv cousins, Moti Dayan and Etgar Zaitouna, who were abducted in January 2001 from a Tulkarem restaurant and shot to death.

In addition, relatives of dozens of young victims maimed or murdered in the Dolphinarium terror attack in Tel Aviv in the summer of 2001 (16 dead), represented by attorneys Maxim and Reuven Lifkin, have also welcomed Livni's decision.



Mattot Arim Responds

Mattot Arim (Cities of Israel), an Israeli citizens' group, noted that the decision buttresses the opposition to the notion of a Palestinian state.  The organization said the decision means that if the PA in fact becomes a state, it would receive the immunity it seeks - with harsh consequences for Israelis.

"This decision [by Livni] underscores the impossibility of setting up a hostile Palestinian state just a bike-ride away from all of Israel's population centers and its sole international airport," reads a statement released by the organization. "Now that it is apparent that a Palestinian state would not only engage in terror, but would also be immune to the legal consequences thereof, the idea of a Palestinian state must leave the stage."