Overview
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday refused an emergency request to pause roughly $655.5–$656 million in damages that a U.S. jury awarded to Americans hurt or killed in early‑2000s Jerusalem attacks.
- The underlying suit began with a 2015 Manhattan jury verdict for plaintiffs that was tripled under U.S. anti‑terrorism law to reach the current award before it was later overturned on appeal and then revived.
- A 2019 congressional change to jurisdiction rules and the Supreme Court’s unanimous 2025 ruling upholding that law cleared the way for the 2nd U.S. Circuit to reinstate the judgment in March.
- The Palestinian Authority and PLO told U.S. courts that enforcing the award now would destabilize West Bank services and said plaintiffs may try to seize indirect Palestinian tax revenues that Israel collects for transfers to the PA.
- Sotomayor’s administrative denial is not a final Supreme Court ruling, so appeals will continue even as collection steps can move forward, which could directly reduce funding for schools, hospitals and security in Palestinian‑administered areas.