'Collective punishment': US Supreme Court greenlights $656m judgement against Palestinian officials

'Collective punishment': US Supreme Court greenlights $656m judgement against Palestinian officials The US Supreme Court has refused to freeze a $656m judgement against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) after the two groups said they were too cash-strapped to compensate Americans for attacks in Israel during the Second Intifada. The decision was announced on Monday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal justice who is tasked with taking on emergency case reviews. This comes 22 years after the lawsuit was first launched, and it means the collection of the funds can begin immediately. In 2015, the plaintiffs, who said they were victims of attacks between 2002 and 2004, won the damages. Then in 2016, the US Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the judgment on the grounds that US courts cannot consider lawsuits against foreign groups if the violence was not aimed at American citizens. Last year, the supreme court revived the case by voting 9-0 to uphold the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act passed by lawmakers. By March of this year, the US Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the judgment. Read more: 'Collective punishment': US Supreme Court greenlights $656m judgement against Palestinian officials A young Palestinian man walks past destroyed cars, burned by Israeli settlers overnight, in Jalud, near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on 4 August 2026 (Mohammed Torokman/Reuters)