PA Will Defend Itself Against Lawsuits--Maybe They Just Noticed The Prosecution's Lousy Record

The PA's decision might not be all that surprising.

In a surprising shift, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority says his government is willing to defend itself against lawsuits alleging that it is liable for acts of Palestinian Arab terrorism during the intifada, according to court papers.

For years, the Palestinian Authority has refused to contest such suits or acknowledge the jurisdiction of American courts, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in default judgments that the Palestinian Authority has refused to pay. Now, in a move that could lead to trials, the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is calling on federal judges in New York and Rhode Island to throw out the default judgments and give the authority another chance to respond to civil suits filed years ago.

"I have instructed new counsel that the Defendants will participate fully in this and other litigation in a cooperative manner," Mr. Fayyad pledged in an affidavit filed in court in Rhode Island.

The shift could prompt new suits against the Palestinian Authority, if other litigants, such as businessman, believe that the authority might actually pay judgments awarded by American courts.

What exactly is motivating the change is unclear, although it may have come at the urging of American officials.

One motivation could be that the money used to pay if the Palestinian Authority loses would come from the American tax money being sent to the PA.

But maybe part of the PA's reasoning is the poor record the US has had in persuing cases against terrorists.

The case against the Holy Land Foundation ended in a mistrial.
In one case, Hamas was found to be a political party--not a terrorist group.
In that case, the defense claimed that the Israel Lobby was involved--and the defendant got off.
In another case, it was argued that terrorism against Israel did not violate international norms.

Just what are the odds that the PA gets away with it?

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.