'Collective punishment': US Supreme Court greenlights $656m judgement against Palestinian officials

'Collective punishment': US Supreme Court greenlights $656m judgement against Palestinian officials Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 08/04/2026 - 19:00 The case was brought by US victims of attacks in Israel some 25 years ago A young Palestinian man walks past destroyed cars, burned by Israeli settlers overnight, in Jalud, near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on 4 August 2026 (Mohammed Torokman/Reuters) Off The US Supreme Court has refused to freeze a $656m judgement against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) after the two groups said they were too cash-strapped to compensate Americans for attacks in Israel during the Second Intifada. The decision was announced on Monday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal justice who is tasked with taking on emergency case reviews. This comes 22 years after the lawsuit was first launched, and it means the collection of the funds can begin immediately.