A family of Israeli terror victims filed a 100-million shekel lawsuit this morning in the Tel Aviv District Court against the European Union (EU). The civil action arises from a Palestinian terror attack that killed the mother of the family, Techiya Blumberg, and left her husband Steven and daughter Tziporah seriously injured and wheelchair-bound. The family lawsuit maintains that the EU has recklessly provided the PA with massive amounts of financial aid, while knowing that the money was being diverted from its intended purposes to Palestinian terrorist groups. The EU has donated more than $1.5 billion to the PA - some $10 million each month - since 1994. The plaintiffs contend that Arafat has channeled large sums of these EU funds to terrorist organizations such as Fatah Tanzim and Force 17 - and that despite evidence to this effect, the EU failed to undertake any steps to monitor how the PA was utilizing the money.
On August 5, 2001, the three Blumbergs were traveling from their home in Karnei Shomron on the highway near Kalkilya when Palestinian terrorists in a nearby car opened fire with automatic weapons. The shots instantly killed Techiya, mother of five, while Steven and his 14-year-old daughter were injured and remain paralyzed to this day. Months later, Israeli security services arrested PA Kalkilye Police Chief Samar Abu Hania and PA police officer Farid Azouni on charges of having planned and taken part in the attack, respectively. “Without the EU’s reckless provision of financing to the Palestinians, hundreds of Israeli terror victims would still be alive and thousands of others would never have had to suffer their tragic injuries,“ said attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who brought the suit. “This suit will establish that the EU, even more than Iran, is the biggest source of funding for the Palestinian terrorist groups that target Israeli civilians.”
On August 5, 2001, the three Blumbergs were traveling from their home in Karnei Shomron on the highway near Kalkilya when Palestinian terrorists in a nearby car opened fire with automatic weapons. The shots instantly killed Techiya, mother of five, while Steven and his 14-year-old daughter were injured and remain paralyzed to this day. Months later, Israeli security services arrested PA Kalkilye Police Chief Samar Abu Hania and PA police officer Farid Azouni on charges of having planned and taken part in the attack, respectively. “Without the EU’s reckless provision of financing to the Palestinians, hundreds of Israeli terror victims would still be alive and thousands of others would never have had to suffer their tragic injuries,“ said attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who brought the suit. “This suit will establish that the EU, even more than Iran, is the biggest source of funding for the Palestinian terrorist groups that target Israeli civilians.”