Sonia Sotomayor refuses to pause $655M judgment against Palestinian Authority over attack claims

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has rejected a request to pause a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The judgment is related to attacks that resulted in the deaths and injuries of Americans in Israel between 2002 and 2004.

Sotomayor's decision, made without explanation, allows efforts to collect the funds to proceed while the PA and PLO prepare for a further appeal. The Palestinian organizations had sought to freeze the judgment, asserting it should not have been reinstated after being previously overturned. They warned that immediate collection could exacerbate the PA's financial difficulties, impacting services like schools, hospitals, and security in the West Bank.

The case originated from a lawsuit filed by victims and their relatives, leading to a New York jury's $218.5 million award in 2015. This amount was tripled to $655.5 million under U.S. anti-terrorism law. An appeals court initially overturned the judgment in 2016, citing a lack of U.S. court authority at the time.

However, Congress later amended the law to facilitate such cases. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld this change in 2025, leading the appeals court to reinstate the original judgment in March. The PA and PLO are now poised to ask the Supreme Court to consider the legality of reviving a judgment that had previously been overturned.