Jerusalem court OKs seizure of $5.5 million in PA funds by relatives of Huwara attack victims

Attorney Asher Stub, whose Justice for Terror Victims NGO helped write the bill on which the request was based, represented the Yaniv family.

By JNS

The Jerusalem District Court recently approved the seizure of 20 million shekels ($5.5 million) in Palestinian Authority funds by the relatives of slain brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, who were murdered by an Arab terrorist in Samaria almost two years ago, Ynet reported on Tuesday.

The suit was filed under the “Compensation for Terror Victims Law,” passed by the Knesset in March. The law requires courts to award punitive damages of at least 10 million shekels per fatal casualty.

To ease the collection of potential punitive awards by victims and their families, court judgments may be enforced against any property of the defendant, including any property seized or frozen by the State of Israel.

Under agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs duties on behalf of the P.A.

“Nothing can bring our loved ones back to us, and nothing will put our mind at ease,” Shalom Yaniv, father of the two terror victims, told Ynet. “At the same time, the move to seize the P.A.’s funds is the beginning of doing justice to us as a family, as well as to the victims of terrorism.”

“This is a just and correct move,” Yaniv continued. “Every family that was harmed by a terrorist incident should sue to convey the message that those who finance terror will also pay on an economic level. In addition, the State of Israel must engage in the expulsion of terrorists.”

Attorney Asher Stub, whose Justice for Terror Victims NGO helped write the bill on which the request was based, represented the Yaniv family.

“The Compensation for Terror Victims Law, which was enacted this year in the Knesset at our initiative, will result in billions of shekels in compensation for the families of terror victims,” stated Stub.

“The Yaniv family’s lawsuit achieves the dual goal of providing adequate compensation to the family and harming the economic infrastructure that finances and encourages terrorist attacks,” the attorney added.

Hallel Menachem, 21, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 19, from the Samaria village of Har Bracha, were hit by terrorist gunfire during a traffic jam in the nearby hostile Palestinian community of Huwara on Feb. 26, 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces said a terrorist drove to the Einabus junction and opened fire on an Israeli vehicle. The Yaniv brothers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment, where the two were pronounced dead.

Under the P.A.’s “pay for slay” policy, Ramallah disburses monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and the families of slain terrorists. The so-called Martyrs’ Fund is enshrined in P.A. law, granting terrorists or their next of kin the right to receive payments as long as they live.

In October, attorneys for some 250 Israelis affected by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre filed a record-breaking lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority, citing its support for terrorism through pay for slay.

The terrorism victims and families of those killed during the Oct. 7 attacks, represented by the Jerusalem-based Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm, demanded 1.75 billion shekels ($462 million) in compensation.

The claim came on top of a 210 million shekel ($55 million) lawsuit filed some three months earlier with the Jerusalem District Court by dozens of Israelis whose relatives were killed in recent years, including in the ax attack in Elad on Independence Day in 2022 and the Oct. 7 slaughter.