US court rules Iran, Syria liable for terror attacks in Israel
Decision says countries are accountable for damages from 7 attacks carried out by Palestinians since they provided ‘material support’ to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups
Security forces at the scene of a stabbing attack that killed Taylor Force and injured 10 others at the Jaffa port on March 8, 2016. (Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel, File)
A US court has ruled that Iran and Syria are liable for compensation to American citizens wounded and killed in a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel, including the killing of a US Army veteran.
Judge Randolph D. Moss in US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Americans wounded and killed in seven attacks carried out by Palestinians were eligible for damages from Iran and Syria because they provided “material support” to terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The court has not yet determined the amount of the damages. The order was posted online Sunday by the federal courts.
Syria, Iran and the Iranian Ministry of Information of Security, all named as defendants in the civil case, did not take part in the proceedings.
Taylor Force, murdered in Israel by a Palestinian terrorist in March 2016, gave his name to the Taylor Force Act, legislation proposing to halt US aid to the Palestinian Authority until the latter stops paying stipends to terrorists and their families. (Facebook)
American courts have ordered the government of Iran to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to families of Americans killed by Palestinian militants before. But since Iran and the US have no formal diplomatic relations, collecting the damages has remained elusive.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Taylor Force, a US Army veteran, was studying in Israel in 2016 when he was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv.
The US Congress later approved the Taylor Force Act, which withholds funding to the Palestinians that it said was used to reward the families of attackers.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
