U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to stay a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), permitting efforts to collect the damages awarded to American victims of attacks in Israel during the Second Intifada. Sotomayor denied the emergency request without explanation and did not refer the matter to the full court.

The ruling clears the path for plaintiffs to pursue payment while the PA and PLO prepare to petition the Supreme Court to review the reinstated judgment. The case originated from lawsuits filed by Americans injured or bereaved by shootings and bombings in and around Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004, which resulted in 33 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

A New York jury initially found the PA and PLO civilly liable in 2015 and awarded $218.5 million in damages. Under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, this amount was tripled to $655.5 million. However, the judgment was overturned in 2016 after a court ruled that U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court declined to review the ruling in 2018.

Congress subsequently passed the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act in 2019, enabling U.S. courts to hear certain terrorism-related cases against the PA and PLO under new criteria, including payments made to attackers or their families. In June 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld this law, affirming Congress’s authority to provide a legal avenue for American victims of terrorism abroad.

Following the Supreme Court decision, the U.S. Second Circuit Court reinstated the $655.5 million judgment on March 30, citing the preference to avoid forcing the plaintiffs to retry the same claims decades later. The PA and PLO have argued that the 2015 judgment had become legally void and cannot be revived under revised laws. Their forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court will focus on whether the Second Circuit possessed the authority to reinstate the ruling.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, stated that the ruling means the PA will be obligated to pay $655 million to terrorism victims. She indicated that plaintiffs intend to collect the funds through PA tax revenues that Israel collects on their behalf, including customs duties and taxes accumulated under the Oslo Accords. Israel has frozen some payments linked to Palestinian prisoners and families of attackers.

Darshan-Leitner noted that enforcement efforts may target a range of PA and PLO assets, including bank accounts and investment portfolios. She contended that the PA and PLO have multiple financial resources, disputing claims that collecting the judgment would precipitate a collapse of PA institutions.

The PA and PLO cautioned that enforcing such a substantial judgment could exacerbate financial instability, leading to disruptions in public services, including education, healthcare, sanitation, and security operations in the West Bank. They have highlighted a debt nearing $5 billion and expressed concerns over their capacity to function if tax revenues held by Israel are withheld.

The litigation also reportedly influenced PA policy regarding payments to Palestinian security prisoners and families of attackers. While the PA maintains current payments are welfare-based and not linked to the offenses committed, Darshan-Leitner described this distinction as largely semantic and emphasized that the legal risks connected to such payments remain significant.

The broader legal developments have created precedent-setting opportunities for American victims of overseas terrorism to seek compensation through U.S. courts, where damages awarded under anti-terrorism statutes typically exceed those granted in Israeli proceedings.