Supreme Court Justice declines to halt $655 million judgment against Palestinian authorities

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined on Monday to halt a $655.5 million damages judgment against Palestinian authorities in a civil lawsuit over attacks that killed and injured Americans in Israel from 2002 to 2004. Sotomayor denied a request by the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to pause the judgment while they appeal a lower court's decision to revive the case. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Americans harmed in shootings and bombings in the Jerusalem area, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the judgment in March. The Palestinian organizations warned that enforcing the judgment would cause severe financial harm and destabilize government services in the West Bank, potentially jeopardizing regional security. The Supreme Court last year upheld a 2019 federal law that facilitated such lawsuits against Palestinian authorities.