Palestinian Authority Desperate To Stave Off Landmark NY Terrorism Trial

The Palestinian Authority is desperately trying to weasel out of a January trial date in front of the US District Court in New York.

Shurat Hadin, an Israeli civil rights organization is suing the Palestinian Authority and the PLO for over one billion dollars on behalf of 11 families for involvement of PA and PLO members in seven terror attacks between 2001 and 2004 during the Second Intifada...attacks that the PA and PLO directed or funded.

The PA and PLO already lost a November trial in an attempt to get the case thrown out when the court ruled that was sufficient evidence to present to a jury that the PA and PLO provided material support for the attacks that murdered American citizens. The PA is liable on six of the seven attacks.

The court also ruled that there was enough evidence for a jury to determine that PA employees conducted terrorist attacks against civilians in Israel, and that the PA and PLO provided weapons, money and other material support in violation of U.S.laws, as well as safe haven to the terrorists, as well material support to Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the "military wing" of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.

The trial date for this landmark case is set for January and the PA and PLO's lawyers have already seen the evidence. So they're doing everything possible to avoid going to trial. They already tried the sovereign immunity argument and failed, so their next step was to file a request for a writ of mandamus, asking the court to recuse itself as an improper venue:

"For years the PA provided funding and every measure of support for the murderous terrorist operations in Israel that devastated the country and left so many civilians dead," said Shurat Hadin director Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.

Darshan-Leitner added "the decision and trial will provide an unprecedented opportunity to present to a New York jury all that the evidence that has been amassed documenting the Palestinians use of terrorism as an official policy to advance their goals."

If Shurat Hadin wins their case, all of the assets of the PA,Fatah and the PLO will become subject to judgement. In fact,Mahmoud Abbas,who according to former PLO Security Chief Mahmoud Dahlan personally stole at least $1.3 billion in donor aid could see his personal assets subject to judgment.So could Fatah's Palestine Investment Fund, worth about $2 billion or so.

Even better,the $100 million per month in PA taxes Israel collects for them could be levied as well. I've never understood why the Israelis, who are footing the bill for the care and rehabilitation of hundreds of terrorism victims didn't put these funds in escrow years ago and allow the families of these victims to sue in Israeli courts and obtain financial judgments against th ePA that could be paid out of those funds.

If this case goes to trial, and it looks like it will, an American jury is finally going to hear first hand how the Palestinian Authority planned, hired out, financed and assisted in the murder of their fellow Americans.

Of course,the next question that needs answering is why the Clinton,Bush and Obama Administrations continued to fund these creatures and pressure Israel to make concessions to them as 'peace partners.'

All three administrations had to have known about this.