Supreme Court allows terrorist attack victims to sue Palestinian Authority
The Supreme Court upheld a law Friday that allows Americans victims injured in terrorist attacks in Israel, and the families of deceased victims, to sue the Palestinian Authority.
The big picture: The unanimous ruling clears the legal pathway for victims to seek damages in the U.S. for attacks abroad connected to two political entities representing Palestinians.
Driving the news: A 2019 law intended to facilitate lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization does not violate the Constitution, the Supreme Court found in their decision.
"The Federal Government has an exceedingly compelling interest in providing a forum for American victims to hold accountable the perpetrators of acts of international terror that harm U.S. citizens," U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion.
"We have also recognized the national government's interest in holding accountable those who perpetrate an 'act of violence against' US nationals—who, even when physically outside our borders, remain 'under the particular protection' of American law," he said.
"So too the national government's corresponding authority to make 'the killing of an American abroad' punishable as a federal offense 'that can be prosecuted in (US) courts."
Context: A federal appeals court had reversed a verdict awarding victims of an attack$650 million under the Anti-Terrorism Act, citing violation of the Fifth Amendment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. ‘emergency protest' condemns ICE raids, U.S. support for Israel
Hundreds of people protested the prospect of a U.S. war with Iran and voiced support for immigrants in the U.S. and Palestinians in Gaza during a rally Friday evening outside the federal building in San Francisco's South of Market. The protest outside the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building, which drew about 200 people at its peak, was organized by a coalition of activist groups, including Bay Resistance, the Answer Coalition and the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The escalating tensions between Israel and Iran were a major focus of Friday's protest. President Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will strike back at Tehran. Tensions initially soared last Friday with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear and military sites, military leaders and nuclear scientists. 'As the U.S. escalates aggression on Iran — backing Israeli strikes and pushing for war — it exposes its imperialist playbook: defend Zionism, crush resistance. From Gaza to Tehran, the U.S. fuels war and genocide to maintain control,' organizers said in promoting the event, billed as an 'emergency protest.' The protest featured several speakers and closed the block around the federal building at Seventh and Mission streets, with many protesters chanting, 'Free, free Palestine.' Bay Area protests against Israel's war with Hamas have cooled in recent months, though activists have found new energy since Trump retook office in January. Last Saturday's No Kings Day protests drew tens of thousands of people to events in dozens of Bay Area cities decrying Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids nationwide. Weeks earlier, demonstrations against Tesla CEO Elon Musk drew huge crowds to the vehicle's showrooms across the Bay Area condemning the onetime Trump ally, whose relationship with the president has cooled in recent weeks. 'At home, the war continues through ICE raids, family separations, and repression of migrants — all part of the same violent system,' the organizers said. 'We reject this imperialist war machine and stand with all people resisting Zionism and U.S. domination.'
an hour ago
US evacuates 79 staff and family from embassy in Israel as more Americans ask how to leave
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. evacuated 79 staff and families from the U.S. Embassy in Israel on Friday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and growing numbers of private American citizens seek information on how to leave Israel and Iran. An internal State Department memo says the military flight, the second known to have occurred this week, left Tel Aviv for Sofia, Bulgaria, where some or all of the passengers were to get a connecting charter flight to Washington. The document, which was obtained by The Associated Press, also said that more than 6,400 U.S. citizens in Israel had filled out an online form on Friday alone asking for information about when and if the U.S. government would organize evacuation flights. An additional 3,265 people, some of whom may also have competed the form, called an emergency number seeking assistance. The document estimated that between 300 and 500 people per day could need evacuation assistance should the U.S. decide to offer flights or ships to get Americans out, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has said is being considered. There are some 700,000 Americans in Israel, many of them dual nationals, according to estimates, although the exact number at any given time is unclear because U.S. citizens are not required to notify the embassy if they are there or when they might leave. Earlier Friday, before the memo was distributed, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that more than 25,000 Americans had reached out for information on leaving Israel, the West Bank and Iran. She told reporters that those people had sought 'information and support' and were 'seeking guidance' on departing. She would not give a breakdown of where the queries had come from and would not comment on embassy evacuations. In Iran, the document said that at least 84 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, or Green Card holders, had crossed into neighboring Azerbaijan by land since the conflict began and that an additional 774 had been granted permission to enter as of Friday.
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Senegal women's basketball team members denied US visas, prime minister says
The Senegalese women's basketball team has scrapped plans to train in the U.S. for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament in the Ivory Coast next month after several players and team officials had their visas denied, Senegal's prime minister said. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said Thursday on Facebook that the team would train in Senegal's capital, Dakar, 'in a sovereign and conducive setting.' The West African nation's federation said in a statement that the visa applications of five players and seven officials weren't approved. 'Informed of the refusal of issuing visas to several members of the Senegal women's national basketball team, I have instructed the Ministry of Sports to simply cancel the 10-day preparatory training initially planned in the United States of America,' Sonko said. The visa denials come amid a push by the Trump administration to have countries improve vetting travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. Senegal wasn't on that list of countries and it was not immediately clear why the visas were denied. A State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press the department could not comment on individual cases because visa records are confidential under American law. The travel ban includes exemptions for the World Cup, the Olympics and any 'other major sporting event,' though it's unclear what is considered a major event. The team is coached by Otis Hughley Jr., who previously led the Nigerian women's basketball team. He was the men's coach at Alabama A&M before resigning in March. Senegal, which was going to train in the U.S. from Sunday through July 3, has finished either first or second in four of the last five AfroBasket championships over the last decade and has won 11 titles in total. The tournament determines Africa's champion, which earns entry into the FIBA World Cup next year in Germany.
