Court: Palestinian Authority must pay U.S. family $116 million

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli court has ruled the family of an American couple killed in a terror attack can collect $116 million in damages from the Palestinian Authority.

The ruling could set a precedent for a number of suits that have been filed against the Palestinian Authority in American courts.

The court in Jerusalem ruled the Israeli government can legally implement a 2004 U.S. court ruling that found the Palestinian Authority liable. However, the ruling does not explain how the plaintiffs would collect the money.

The Palestinian Authority's pleading in the case was not made public, but an attorney for the plaintiffs summarized it for CNN. The attorney said the Palestinian Authority asked the court to throw out the case because an unfavorable judgment would make the organization liable for such large sums from this and other cases that it would go bankrupt.

Monday's ruling is the latest turn in a long legal case brought by the relatives of Yaron and Efrat Unger, who were killed in 1996 when Hamas gunmen attacked their car in Israel.

Family members sued the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization in an American court because both victims were American citizens. In its petition, the family argued that the Palestinian Authority bore ultimate responsibility for the attack because the Hamas attackers were controlled and assisted by elements within the Palestinian Authority.

The case ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 2004 the justices ordered the Palestinian Authority and the PLO to pay the family.

After the judgment, the family petitioned the Israeli government to enforce the American ruling.

In his ruling, Israel District Court Judge Aharon Farkash hinted at the Palestinian Authority's arguments that a ruling favorable to the plaintiffs would bankrupt the organization.

"How can one accept the claim that a legal ruling should not be enforced because it might hurt the perpetrator financially?" he wrote. "Should we not punish convicted persons for no other reason than that it might cause their bankruptcy?"

The family's attorney acknowledged many hurdles remain before a judgment can be collected.

"The decision is important because it means that the U.S. judgment can be enforced in Israel," said Mordechay Heller, an attorney for the Unger family. "However, we expect the Palestinians to appeal, and there is still a long road ahead of us."

Repeated attempts to reach the Palestinian Authority for comment were not successful.

CNN's Enas Muthaffar contributed to this report.

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