U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined on Monday to halt a $655.5 million damages judgment against Palestinian authorities. The order requires the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to pay plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit related to attacks that killed and injured Americans in Israel between 2002 and 2004.
The legal dispute stems from a 2015 verdict in a New York federal court where plaintiffs alleged the Palestinian entities were responsible for shootings and bombings in the Jerusalem area. While the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially overturned the verdict in 2016 for lack of jurisdiction, Congress passed the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act in 2019 to facilitate such lawsuits. In June 2025, the Supreme Court upheld that law in a 9-0 decision, leading the 2nd Circuit to reinstate the judgment this past March.
In their request to Sotomayor, the Palestinian Authority and the PLO argued that the judgment had become a "legal nullity" after appeals were exhausted in 2018. They sought to put the payment on hold while they continue to appeal the lower court's decision to revive the case. Sotomayor, who handles emergency matters for the region including New York, denied the request without a written explanation or referral to the full court.
The scale of the judgment, totaling more than half a billion dollars, represents a significant portion of the Palestinian Authority's operating budget. In legal filings, the Palestinian organizations stated that enforcing the payment would cause severe financial harm and destabilize essential government services in the West Bank. They reported that funding for security, sanitation, and school services is currently "hanging by a thread," suggesting that residents in these areas may see a direct impact on public infrastructure and education if the funds are seized.
Beyond the immediate financial impact, this case reinforces a legal precedent regarding how U.S. courts exercise jurisdiction over foreign entities. Under the 2019 federal law upheld by the Supreme Court, Palestinian authorities are considered to have consented to U.S. jurisdiction if they engage in specific activities in the United States. While the Palestinian entities argue this violates due process rights, the current ruling allows the enforcement of the judgment to proceed. The next steps involve the continued appeal by the Palestinian Authority and the PLO against the 2nd Circuit's decision to resurrect the case, though no specific hearing dates were provided in the report.