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Court reinstates $656M terror judgment against PLO, Palestinian Authority

Published  April 6, 2026 1:20pm MST
World
FOX Local
article

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen at dusk on Jan. 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • A U.S. appeals court reinstated a $656 million judgment against the PLO and Palestinian Authority for attacks on Americans.
    • The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling allowing such lawsuits under a 2019 law.
    • The case, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, is a major step in a long-running legal fight.

An appeals court has reinstated a $656 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Americans who were killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. 

Big picture view:

This means that the multi-million-dollar fine these organizations were supposed to pay but didn’t, due to a previous verdict that was tossed out, will now be available to victims' families who filed the lawsuit decades ago. 

Dig deeper:

In June 2025, the Supreme Court upheld a 2019 law that was enacted by Congress to allow victims’ lawsuits to go forward against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority.

The backstory:

A jury found the PLO and the Palestinian Authority liable for the terrorist attacks which killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more in the early 2000s and a 2018 stabbing death of a U.S.-born settler outside a mall in the West Bank. 

What they're saying:

"Our client families are very relieved that the court has reinstated the judgment without requiring a new trial. They have been waiting for a very long time for justice to be done," attorney Kent Yalowitz said in an email to The Associated Press.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. 

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