A $656 million legal judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority can move forward after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused on August 3 to freeze enforcement. The decision leaves the Palestinian entities facing immediate collection efforts in a case brought by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.
The emergency request sought time to pursue further appeals. The PLO and Palestinian Authority argued that paying the judgment could destabilize critical government services in the West Bank, harm civilians and threaten regional security. Sotomayor’s order did not resolve every remaining legal issue, but it denied the requested pause while the broader litigation continues.
The judgment traces back to a jury verdict in 2015. The jury awarded $218.5 million to victims and families tied to six attacks between 2001 and 2004; federal law tripled the damages, producing an award of roughly $655.5 million. A prior appeals ruling had thrown out the judgment on jurisdictional grounds, but the case was revived after the Supreme Court upheld a 2019 law allowing these terrorism-related suits to proceed in U.S. courts.
The ruling carries consequences beyond one case. It reinforces a pathway for U.S. victims of overseas terrorism to pursue civil damages against foreign political organizations, even when collecting the award could affect public institutions abroad. It also turns a decades-old verdict into a live financial threat, with the dispute now centered less on whether the claims may be heard and more on whether the judgment can be enforced without destabilizing the Palestinian administration.