Obama Admin Moves to Block Restitution for U.S. Terror Victims

[lostinblue 1,989]

Obama Admin Moves to Block Restitution for U.S. Terror Victims

Obama admin sides with Palestinians in landmark terror case

The Obama administration has intervened in a landmark legal case brought by the American victims of Palestinian terrorists, urging the court to limit restitution for the victims out of fear that a sizable payout could collapse the Palestinian government, according to a copy of the court filing.

Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken argued in a filing to a New York City court that a hefty payout to the victims of Palestinian terror crimes could burden the Palestinian Authority (PA) and interfere in Obama administration efforts to foster peace in the region.

The victims are entitled to as much as $655 million from the PA following the conclusion of a decade-long lawsuit that exposed the Palestinian government’s role in supporting and paying for terror attacks in Israel.

The administration’s intervention in the case has drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers and some of those affected by the decision.

While the administration supports the right of terror victims to sue in U.S. courts, it remains particularly concerned about the PA’s solvency.

“The United States respectfully urges the Court to carefully consider the impact of its decision on the continued viability of the PA in light of the evidence about its financial situation,” Blinken writes in his “statement of interest.” “An event that deprives the PA of a significant portion of its revenues would likely severely compromise the PA’s ability to operate as a governmental authority.”

Blinken goes on to warn that the case could impact U.S. security interests and its role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“A PA insolvency and collapse would harm current and future U.S.-led efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Blinken writes.

Representatives to the PA had been lobbying the Justice and State Departments to get involved in the case for some time. The PA maintains that it does not have enough funds to pay a bond requirement and has petitioned the judge in the case to drop it.

However, a lawyer representing the victims argues that if the Palestinian government can continue paying terrorists currently imprisoned in Israeli jails, it can pay the victims of these terror acts.

“We are gratified that the Department of Justice supports the rights of survivors of international terrorism to enforce their rights and collect the judgment, but disappointed that the State Department failed to take any stand against the PLO and PA’s policy of putting convicted terrorists on their payroll as soon as they are jailed,” lawyer Kent Yalowitz was quoted as saying in a statement. “If the PA has enough money to pay convicted terrorists, it has enough to pay the judgment in this case.”

Ron Gould, a plaintiff in the case, told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview that there was no reason for the Obama administration to intervene.

“There was really no reason for them to even get involved,” said Gould, whose daughter Shayna was shot in the chest and nearly killed by Palestinian terrorists. “For the Obama administration to stick their fingers where they don’t belong is unconscionable.”

The PA “still seems to have the money to pay the families of the terrorists on an ongoing basis,” Gould said. “They do have the money to pay the piper for losing the court case.”

Shayna Gould welcomed the administration’s filing in the case, saying it reaffirms the rights of terror victims to have a fair day in court.

However, she called the argument that the PA could be bankrupted as a result of the suit “ironic, considering they pay terrorists on a monthly basis.”

Shayna Gould said the PA had been hinting that the U.S. government would get involved for quite some time

“It was a fear. It was a huge fear,” she said, adding that the PA should be forced to finally pay up.

“They, with pride, give money and rank of the highest honor to terrorists and people who commit murder,” Gould said. “Does that sound like clipping coupons and saving pennies?”

“I have to deal with [the impact of their violence] in my life on a constant basis,” Gould added, explaining that she deals with physical pain on a daily basis since the attack. “There is no limit to our suffering.”

Jewish human rights group B’nai B’rith was also critical of the administration’s intervention.

“There needs to be a price paid for committing acts of terror and the means available to prosecute those responsible,” the group said in a release. “While the victims’ families cannot bring their loved ones back, they can go to the courts to achieve redress.”

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/obama-admin-moves-to-block-restitution-for-u-s-terror-victims/

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Trump will take care of it.

[Darnell 8,478]

bankrupt the PA? This is a bad thing?

Edited August 14, 2015 by Darnell

[lostinblue 1,989]

Iran has a few billion floating around to keep them a terrorist state

[Teddy B 17,251]

Trump will take care of it.

Speaking of Trump, I haven't seen VOL. He must be on one of his Filipino shagging expeditions.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Trump will take care of it.

You can bet he has designs on a new luxury hotel and casino in the Gaza Strip

[Darnell 8,478]

Speaking of Trump, I haven't seen VOL. He must be on one of his Filipino shagging expeditions.

wait - it's the weekend, i thought he was on junket to Juarez? or Nuevo Laredo ? Once you get on the other side of monterrey, the girlies are easy.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

The United States makes its reasons for filing this brief abundantly clear. It's worthwhile reading primary sources.

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/US-Statement-of-Interest.pdf

"As I explain below, the collapse of the PA would undermine several decades of U.S. foreign policy and add a new destabilizing factor to the region, compromising national security. Senior U.S. officials have made clear to other governments that if the PA were to collapse, we would be faced with a crisis that would not only impact the security of Israelis and Palestinians, but would potentially have ripple effects elsewhere in the region."

"Economic insecurity and instability in the West Bank also risks seeping into neighboring Jordan, a country with a significant Palestinian refugee population and its own acute economic and social problems, compounded by the Syrian refugee crisis and the international effort to counter the Islamic State.... A worsening of the security situation in the West Bank could also have negative implications for the security situation of neighboring Israel, Jordan, and Egypt -- key U.S. allies in the Middle East."

However, I strongly believe that there should be restitution to the victims, and that the PA is being disingenuous to some extent about its financial capabilities. On the other hand, don't you think that (heaven forfend) the US were held accountable in a foreign civil court for atrocities committed in its name that the US would fight tooth and nail to prevent paying up, and plead poverty? Nothing about this is particularly surprising.

[Darnell 8,478]

Maven (The) - you've a point. But I counter yer point with...

Come on - if this really bankrupts the Palestinian Authority, other Muslim/Islamic countries will throw money at the problem, until the problem is resolved. Greece has a financial problem, the rest o Europe stepped in an attempt to fix it. The PA has other countries in it's pocket, happy to help.

The fact that there's a staffer in the Obama Administration that is attempting to block the funding of the award, makes me vomit. It should make you (and any American born within American boundaries) vomit as well. What's up?

[Ban Hammer 12,829]

The fact that there's a staffer in the Obama Administration that is attempting to block the funding of the award, makes me vomit. It should make you (and any American born within American boundaries) vomit as well. What's up?

apparently vomit........

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The United States makes its reasons for filing this brief abundantly clear. It's worthwhile reading primary sources.

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/US-Statement-of-Interest.pdf

However, I strongly believe that there should be restitution to the victims, and that the PA is being disingenuous to some extent about its financial capabilities. On the other hand, don't you think that (heaven forfend) the US were held accountable in a foreign civil court for atrocities committed in its name that the US would fight tooth and nail to prevent paying up, and plead poverty? Nothing about this is particularly surprising.

They definitely do. The US has no moral superiority on this issue whatsoever.

[JohnR! 5,495]

a.k.a. Penicillin Express...

Speaking of Trump, I haven't seen VOL. He must be on one of his Filipino shagging expeditions.