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PLO Loses Suit on Couple Slain in Israel
Good luck getting it. EFLThe Palestine Liberation Organization and its governmental entity must each pay more than $116 million to the estate of a Jewish couple slain near the West Bank eight years ago, a federal judge ruled. The ruling follows a four-year battle to link the organizations to the crime. The decision by U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux, issued late Monday, upholds Magistrate Judge David Martinâs default judgment in April against the PLO and Palestinian Authority. The rulings hold the organizations responsible for the drive-by shooting of Yaron Ungar, an American citizen, and his Israeli wife, Efrat, in June 1996. The case was filed in March 2000 in U.S. District Court in Providence, where the lawyer handling the Ungarsâ estate is based. Itâs one of a handful of lawsuits filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991 seeking to hold organizations responsible for the killings of American citizens. David Strachman, the Providence attorney appointed by an Israeli court to handle the Ungarsâ estate, called the ruling a "substantive decision.It shows average citizens that are attacked have an avenue to use to go and punish terrorists," Strachman said Tuesday. Strachman said the next step will be to try to collect from the organizations, though he wouldnât say how. He said the PLO and Palestinian Authority have "easily identifiable" assets located worldwide. AKA: "the hard part". "The point of the lawsuit is to inflict economic (punishment), and to take away funds they seek for terrorism," Strachman said. The defendants may appeal the ruling to the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston. Their attorneys, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Lawrence Schilling, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Good to see the PLO hires nothing but the best. Hassan Abu Libdeh, secretary of the Palestinian Cabinet, told The Associated Press he believed the ruling was a political trick, raising the possibility the judiciary will be used as a political tool to fight the Palestinian Authority and PLO. "If this ruling were applied to the U.S. administration itself, I think all the U.S. resources would not be enough to compensate the families of victims of U.S. policies all over the world," he said. Yeah, we know. Evil bad America. Get in line. Take a number. Posted by: tu3031 2004-07-14 |
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