The US Supreme Court on Wednesday will hold the first hearing in a suit filed by terror victims' families again the Arab Bank in America.
Four years ago, a New York court ruled that the Arab Bank is immune to suits filed by Israeli citizens, since it is a commercial body and the US courts are not allowed to handle suits filed by non-citizens. However, the court also ruled that suits filed by dual US-Israeli citizens may be continued.
The Almagor Terror Victims Association, which is a party to the suit, will claim the New York-based bank violated several international laws, changing money for terror organizations and funding terror activities.
The Arab Bank is considered one of the main banks in the Arab world. With its headquarters in Amman, Jordan, the bank has 190 branches around the world, as well as relations with several governments.
Managers of the Arab Bank said they expect the US courts to reject the suit, as they did previously with similar suits.
In September 2014, a federal jury found Arab Bank liable for providing material support to Hamas in two dozen attacks attributed to the terrorist group. Nearly 300 Americans who were either victims or related to victims of the attacks, between 2001-2004, were plaintiffs in the suit. The ruling was appealed, but in May 2015, a US District Court decided to uphold the verdict due to an overwhelming amount of evidence against the company.