By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Aug 31, 2005
A US federal court in the state of Rhode Island has ordered a freeze of all Palestinian Authority assets based in the country after the PA failed to abide by a ruling to compensate victims of Hamas terrorism.
But according to a senior PA official, the Bush Administration is working to overturn the ruling and get what could be over $1 billion back in the hands of the PLO.
In 1996, American Yaron Unger and his wife Efrat were shot dead by Hamas gunmen in Israel.
The couple's relatives sued the PLO-controlled Palestinian Authority in 2000 for providing Hamas with safe haven and an operational base from which to launch attacks against Jews.
Following an extended legal battle, the PA was ordered last year to pay the victims $116 million in compensation.
When the ?Palestinians? failed to honor the ruling, David Strachman, attorney for the Unger's relatives, successfully petitioned the US District Court in Rhode Island in April of this year to issue a temporary injunction preventing the PA from touching its US-based funds.
Strachman also reportedly initiated legal action to seize and sell PA-owned real estate in New York City, which the ?Palestinians? use as a base for their observer mission at the United Nations.
Documents revealing the damning legal moves against the PA were first reported by The Boston Globe on Tuesday.
Hasan Abdel Rahman, head of the PA's Washington office, said the court order has made it difficult for the PA to continue operating in the US, to the displeasure of the Bush Administration.
?It paralyzes the function of the office, and I think that is the intention of the plaintiffs,? Rahman told the Associated Press.
According to Rahman, President George W. Bush has expressed his belief that it is in America's best interests to allow what was once the world's preeminent terrorist organization to operate freely in the US.
?I was told the State Department is studying ways in which they will help and I would hope that would be very soon,? he said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters the administration is examining the issue.