PNA frustrated after U.S. court rules compensation for suicide attack victims

Palestine's unity government said Monday night it is frustrated over a U.S. court that ruled it to compensate 218 million U.S. dollars for victims killed in suicide attacks in Israel more than a decade ago.

Jurors in Manhattan federal court on Monday ruled the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) liable for supporting terrorist attacks in Israel more than a decade ago that killed dozens of Americans.

The court also ordered the PNA to pay back 218.5 million dollars to ten U.S. families who brought the case one month ago.

The PNA said in an official statement emailed to reporters that the U.S. court's decision "is negative," adding it neglected legal precedents repeatedly decided by U.S. courts.

"The court's decision contradicts with what the federal judge in Washington D.C. decided last week that the local American bodies are not the point of an appropriate jurisdiction for such hearings," said the statement.

The Palestinian government said that Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will appeal against the decision, adding that "the government is fully confident that justice will be finally achieved by the American judicial system."

The jury said the PNA backed, sponsored and trained those who were involved in the suicide bombing attacks, adding that the PNA financed their families after they carried out the attacks.

The U.S. court's decision was made as the PNA has been passing through a crucial fiscal crisis since January, specifically, after Israel decided to withhold the Palestinian tax revenue dues.

The Israeli decision was made to punish the Palestinians for their decision to join 20 international treaties and agencies, including Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Endit