Palestinian Authority Ordered to Pay Over $1.7 Million to Wounded Israeli Police Officer

An Israeli court has ordered the Palestinian Authority to pay over 6.4 million shekels (approximately $1.7 million USD) in damages to a police officer who was injured in a 2021 stabbing attempt. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that the Palestinian Authority is liable for damages due to its practice of paying funds to terrorists and their families, establishing that compensation laws also apply to security forces.

The ruling, delivered by Judge Ilan Sala, also imposed an exceptional legal fee of 750,000 shekels on the Palestinian Authority. The incident occurred in January 2021 when the officer was on duty outside a police station in Kafr Qasim and was attacked by a terrorist attempting to stab her. While the terrorist was convicted in a criminal trial, the Palestinian Authority attempted to evade financial responsibility.

The Palestinian Authority argued that the compensation law for victims of terrorism applied only to civilians and not to members of security forces. They also denied a direct link between their payments to the terrorist's family and the specific incident. Judge Sala rejected these arguments, stating that the law uses the general term "person" without excluding those injured during police or military service.

The court determined that transferring funds and stipends to the terrorist's family constituted a legal and practical "endorsement" of the terror act, establishing the Palestinian Authority's full and direct civil liability. The compensation includes past and future lost wages, social benefits, medical expenses, third-party assistance, and 300,000 shekels for pain and suffering. After applying offset mechanisms, the total financial and compensatory award was set at 1,469,370 shekels.

Additionally, the court awarded 5 million shekels in exemplary damages, intended as a deterrent against those who finance terrorism. This punitive sum, combined with the compensatory damages, brought the total liability to 6,469,370 shekels. The court also criticized the Palestinian Authority's conduct, ordering it to pay significant legal costs. This verdict follows recent actions by Israeli authorities to seize assets from released terrorists who continue to receive funds from the Palestinian Authority.