PLO trial gives terror victims stage for redress

A trial unfolding in Manhattan federal court is showcasing a federal law letting victims of terrorism seek compensation.

The civil case against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority is also revealing painful wounds not close to healing for scores of terrorism victims in Israel from 2001 to 2004. Some are Americans.

The trial is one of three major cases proceeding through New York federal courts under the Anti-Terrorism Act. A Brooklyn jury in September found the Jordan-based Arab Bank liable for a wave of Hamas-orchestrated suicide bombings. And a 2005 Brooklyn case against the United Kingdom-based National Westminster Bank is proceeding as well.

In the Manhattan trial, the defense denies officials were privy to attacks, and has cautioned jurors to not let emotional victims’ stories cloud their judgment.

— AP