The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to resolve a long-standing legal battle over whether Palestinian authorities can be sued in US courts by Americans killed or injured in terrorist attacks in the Middle East, The Associated Press reported.
The case centers on lawsuits brought by victims and their families against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Despite repeated efforts by Congress to allow these cases to proceed, the federal appeals court in New York has consistently ruled in favor of the Palestinian groups.
Most recently, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2019 law designed specifically to allow such lawsuits, declaring it unconstitutional. The court argued that the law denied the PLO and PA a fair legal process.
The Supreme Court will now determine whether that ruling stands, with arguments likely to take place in the spring, according to AP.
Both the victims and the Biden administration urged the Supreme Court to take up the case.
The attacks at issue include incidents from the early 2000s, which killed 33 people and wounded hundreds, as well as a 2018 stabbing that killed a US-born resident of Judea and Samaria outside a mall.
The legal battle began in 2016 when the 2nd Circuit overturned a $654 million jury award to the victims, ruling that US courts lack jurisdiction over foreign-based groups for attacks that were not specifically aimed at the United States.
That case involved six attacks for which a jury found the PLO and PA liable, awarding $218 million in damages, automatically tripled under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
After the Supreme Court declined to hear the victims’ appeal in 2018, Congress amended the law again in 2019 to ensure victims could pursue their claims. However, the 2nd Circuit ruled last year that the amendment was unconstitutional, setting the stage for the current Supreme Court case.