Electronic Intifada - Because the United States does not recognize “Palestine” as a state, the PA and PLO were not eligible for sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity protects Israeli officials who commit what human rights groups call war crimes against Palestinians from prosecution in US courts.
“The Palestinian Authority is sued, and, of course, 134 countries out of 193 consider Palestine to be a state. It’s been recognized by the UN to be a state. It signs international agreements as a state, including the International Criminal Court agreement as a state. And yet the United States courts refuse to apply the immunity law, saying Palestine Authority, the Palestinian state, cannot be sued,” Ratner told the Real News Network.
Some observers believe the recent pair of successful anti-terrorism cases against the Palestinian political groups and the Arab Bank may open US courts to further litigation under the law. Others have predicted that a verdict favorable to the plaintiffs could compromise the PA’s attempts to utilize the International Criminal Court to hold Israel accountable for alleged war crimes.
The verdict creates an interesting situation: the Palestinian Authority receives hundreds of millions of dollars in aid annually from the United States, and Israeli occupation forces cooperate closely with PA forces in order to suppress Palestinian protest and resistance.
If the verdict stands, it would mean Israel and the United States are funding and working closely with organizations that a US court has deemed responsible for “terrorism.”
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