The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily halt a $656 million judgment in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel, infohub.kz reports.
The emergency appeal comes after a lower court reinstated the damages following a Supreme Court decision that came after more than two decades of litigation.
In court documents, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said that paying the hefty judgment now would "destabilize critical government services Petitioners provide in the West Bank, injure innocent citizens, and jeopardize regional security."
They asked the justices to pause payment while they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict.
The lawsuit was brought by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds. Families filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law designed to open U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks.
A federal court in New York initially tossed the original verdict on appeal and ruled in favor of the Palestinian organizations as Congress revised the law. In 2025, the Supreme Court sided with the families and revived the lawsuits. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to reinstate the verdict in March. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said at the time that the families were pleased and relieved, saying it would allow "justice to be done." They declined to comment on Thursday's petition.