Supreme Court bars PA from challenging recognized disabilities in terror compensation claims

The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the Palestinian Authority cannot dispute disabilities that have already been officially recognized for terror victims seeking compensation. The court rejected two appeals filed by the PA, siding with the attorney-general's position that prior disability determinations made by the National Insurance Institute (NII) or by a court are binding in subsequent compensation claims.

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The court rejected two appeals filed by the PA - and upheld the attorney-general’s position - that an existing disability determination by the National Insurance Institute (NII) or by a court must be accepted in a subsequent compensation claim.

This ruling pertains to a law enacted in June 2024. The law permits individuals who sustained a permanent disability from a terrorist attack to claim fixed exemplary damages from the PA. These damages aim not only to compensate victims but also to penalize and deter the PA, which allegedly provides payments to terrorists and their families.

In one of the cases before the court, an NII medical committee had recognized a victim's psychological disability. In the second case, relatives of a murder victim had been recognized as indirect victims in a civil lawsuit. Lower courts had previously dismissed the PA's attempts to re-examine these findings. The PA appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing for its right to present evidence challenging these earlier disability determinations.

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Once a permanent disability has been established by the NII or in a separate civil case arising from the same attack, the victim does not need to prove it again.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, along with Justices Yael Willner and Gila Canfy-Steinitz, dismissed the PA's argument. They stated that the law's wording is clear: once a permanent disability is established by the NII or in a separate civil case related to the same attack, the victim does not need to prove it again. The court noted that the law intentionally omits any provision allowing the PA to contradict existing disability findings, aiming for an efficient compensation process for terror victims without repeated litigation. The court also pointed out that the compensation amount is fixed and does not vary with disability severity, making the sole relevant question whether a permanent disability exists.

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The law does not include any provision allowing the PA to present evidence contradicting an existing disability finding, the court said. That omission was deliberate and reflected the law’s aim of providing terror victims with an efficient compensation process without repeated litigation.