Pay-for-slay: Could the Palestinian Authority be held legally liable for October 7?
LEGAL AFFAIRS: Thousands of plaintiffs are taking the PA to court, arguing that its financial and employment policies toward convicted terrorists create a link to the Hamas massacre.
In a legal dispute involving more than 8,000 plaintiffs, the potential legal liability of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the October 7 massacre is being examined. The plaintiffs, seeking to hold the PA responsible for deaths, injuries, and other harm caused by the massacre and subsequent war, face significant challenges in proving their case.
Former IDF Military Prosecution director Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, whose study examines the PA and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) prisoner-payment system, does not expect to find direct evidence linking individual Hamas leaders to PA payments. Instead, he believes the focus will be on the broader system of paying, supporting, and employing prisoners and released prisoners within the PA.
Hirsch argues that the broader question is whether the PA's long-standing system of payment, support, and employment can provide a sufficient connection to those who later engaged in terrorism. He notes that the court will likely have to decide if the PA can be held responsible for the payments it makes to former prisoners who later return to terrorism.
The court has not yet decided on the PA's potential responsibility, and the case is still in its early stages. Jerusalem District Court Judge Eran Shilo has set a procedure for the thousands of lawsuits, separating the PA's potential responsibility from the individual circumstances and damages claimed by each plaintiff. Plaintiffs' law firms have submitted written arguments, while the PA is due to provide a single response by October 18.
The cases remain in the written-argument and information-gathering stage. The PA is expected to file answers and relevant documents by October 29, and expert reports will address the connection between the PA's conduct and the massacre. However, the evidentiary gap remains a crucial aspect of the litigation, making it difficult to establish a direct link between the PA and the actions of Hamas terrorists.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
