WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on whether American victims of attacks in Israel and the West Bank can sue the Palestinian authorities for damages in US courts.
The long-running case involves the jurisdiction of US federal courts to hear lawsuits involving the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Americans killed or injured in attacks in Israel or the West Bank or their relatives have filed a number of suits seeking damages.
In one 2015 case, a jury awarded $654 million to the US victims of attacks which took place in the early 2000s.
Appeals courts dismissed the suits on jurisdiction grounds.
Congress passed a law in 2019 — the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act — that would make the PLO and PA subject to US jurisdiction if they were found to have made payments to the relatives of persons who killed or injured Americans.
Two lower courts ruled that the 2019 law was a violation of the due process rights of the Palestinian authorities but a majority of the justices on the conservative-majority Supreme Court appeared inclined on Tuesday to uphold it.
“Congress and the president are the ones who make fairness judgments when we’re talking about the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” said Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler, representing the Trump administration, agreed, saying the courts should not substitute themselves for Congress or the president.
“Congress and the president made a judgment that is entitled to virtually absolute deference — that it is appropriate to subject the PA and the PLO to jurisdiction,” Kneedler said.
“In this case, respondents had a chance to avoid that by just stopping those activities, but they didn’t,” he said.
Mitchell Berger, representing the PA and PLO, said assigning jurisdiction is “over and above what Congress can prescribe.”
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling before the end of its term in June.
Supreme Court may open door to US victim suits against Palestinian authorities
https://arab.news/vahmp
Supreme Court may open door to US victim suits against Palestinian authorities
- The long-running case involves the jurisdiction of US federal courts to hear lawsuits involving the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
