The Law in the Service of Terror Victims: Can the Palestinian Authority Be Sued in Israeli Civilian Courts for Damages Caused by Its Involvement in Terror Acts During the Second Intifada?

Summary

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[...] after concluding that the Palestinian Authority is a legal personality, but not a state and therefore is not immune from civil actions; actions filed by terror victims against the Palestinian Authority are justiciable in domestic courts; the Israeli court is the appropriate forum for litigating this kind of actions; the Israeli law should be applied when treating the actions; and terror victims may rest their actions upon the domestic Civil Wrongs Ordinance when suing the Palestinian Authority for compensation; it is now clear that there is a solid legal basis for the terror victims to sue the Palestinian Authority in Israeli courts for damages caused by its involvement in terror acts during the second Intifada. [...] is no absolute certainty that the described path would be acceptable for the current legal situation in Israel Consequently, this article also provides a proposal for domestic legislation designed to regulate the matter of suing the Palestinian Authority in Israeli courts for damages caused by its involvement in terrorism.392 The question placed in the heart of this article is whether the Palestinian Authority can be sued in Israeli civilian courts for damages caused by its involvement in terror acts during the second Intifada.

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The Law in the Service of Terror Victims: Can the Palestinian Authority Be Sued in Israeli Civilian Courts for Damages Caused by Its Involvement in Terror Acts During the Second Intifada?

Reason can wrestle and overthrow terror.

-Euripides1

I. Introduction

A. The Importance of the Topic

On the morning of 28 September 2000, Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament), visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.2 "[T]he moment the plans for the visit had been made public . . . there was concern among Israeli security officials that the heavily media-covered visit might inflame some Palestinian nationalist sentiments . . . ."3 Eventually, Sharon's visit was relatively quiet. "By the afternoon, despite sporadic flare-ups of further clashes between police and demonstrators, Israeli security officials concluded that the matter was behind them."4 Unfortunately, that conclusion turned out to be totally wrong.5

"Within hours, the Voice of Palestine was broadcasting denunciations."6 Sharon was blamed for degrading the Muslim holy places.7 "Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority chairman, called upon the entire Arab and Islamic world to 'move immediately to stop these aggressions and Israeli practices against holy Jerusalem.'"8

The following day brought great escalation.9 "In the West Bank town of Qalqilya a Palestinian police officer participating in a joint security patrol with Israeli police opened fire and killed his Israeli counterpart."10 In Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians threw heavy rocks onto the Wailing Wall while Jewish worshippers were praying.11 The worshippers had been coerced to run away and the Israeli border guard responded by opening fire on the Palestinian rioters.12

The second Intifada broke out.

The appellation Intifada-meaning uprising in Arabic13-was given to the erupting violence as if it was a continuation of the first Palestinian Intifada against Israel.14 "But the differences between the two rapidly became clear. Where the first Intifada was characterized most memorably by Palestinian youths throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, the second Intifada has been far bloodier, taking on the aspects of armed conflict, guerilla warfare, and terrorist attacks."15

During the second Intifada, wide-ranging terror attacks struck Israel.16 "Most of the terrorist attacks were directed toward civilians. They struck at men and at women; at elderly and at children. Entire families lost their loved ones. . . . The terror attacks occurred everywhere, including public transportation, shopping centers and markets, coffee houses, and inside . . . houses and communities."17 Great fear descended on the streets of Israeli towns.

As time passed, it became more and more clear that the Palestinian Authority was the life and soul of the renewed uprising.18 Strong evidence showed that the Palestinian Authority engaged in planning and executing terror attacks.19 It also encouraged them ideologically and authorized them financially.20 To date, more than a thousand Israelis have been killed in the attacks,21 and thousands of businesses were damaged.22 Unfortunately, the terror attacks are still taking place.23

Is the law able to come to those victims' aid?

The question placed in the heart of this article is whether the Palestinian Authority can be sued in Israeli civilian courts for damages caused by its involvement in terror acts during the second Intifada. Answering this question in the affirmative may create a significant and actual change. It may render hope, relief, and a sense of justice.

B. The Scope of the Research

This article will demonstrate that under international and domestic law, there is an adequate legal basis for the terror victims to sue the Palestinian Authority in Israeli courts for damages caused by its involvement in terrorism.

The Israelis have suffered from the Palestinian terrorism since Israel's establishment.24 Terror was Israel's lot even- and sometimes especially-during the peace process with the Palestinians.25 However, this article refers to a specific timeframe starting in September 2000 when the second Intifada broke out, with the significant role of the Palestinian Authority in planning and executing terror attacks.26

The first section of this article focuses on the Israeli-Palestine conflict and on the involvement of the Palestinian Authority in terror acts against Israel. The legal background will concentrate on the existing legal means the Israeli legal system offers the terror victims in order to sue the Palestinian Authority.

The article will then analyze the topic's key-question: can the Palestinian Authority be sued in Israeli civilian courts for damages caused by its involveme...

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