The Supreme Court has left a $656 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority standing, rejecting an emergency bid to pause the long-running case. The decision keeps alive a legal fight rooted in Jerusalem attacks that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds, with the victims’ families still pursuing compensation more than two decades later.
According to News4JAX, Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused Monday to halt the judgment while the PLO and Palestinian Authority appeal its reinstatement. The organizations argued that immediate payment could destabilize critical government services in the West Bank.
The award stems from a lawsuit filed by American victims and relatives of people killed or injured in attacks in Jerusalem during the early 2000s. In a March 30, 2026 decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the original judgment, which was entered after a jury verdict and totaled $655.5 million in 2015.
Why The Case Returned To The High Court
The litigation had been thrown out after the Second Circuit ruled in 2016 that the federal court lacked personal jurisdiction over the PLO and Palestinian Authority. Congress later revised the law to address the jurisdictional issue and keep the victims’ claims moving through U.S. courts.
In June 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the law’s jurisdictional provision did not violate the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The justices said Congress could tie jurisdiction over the two entities to conduct involving the United States and sensitive foreign-policy concerns, sending the cases back for further proceedings.
The Judgment Is Still A Civil Damages Fight
Despite the terrorism allegations at the center of the lawsuit, the case is a civil damages action rather than a criminal prosecution. The families sued under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, which provides a route for U.S. citizens injured by international terrorism to seek damages in federal court.
As reported by The Associated Press, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the families were pleased and relieved when the verdict was reinstated, describing the ruling as a chance for justice after a long legal process. Sotomayor’s action does not resolve how or when the money will be collected, but it leaves the reinstated judgment in force as the broader appeal continues.
