The Palestinian Authority flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Jerusalem District Court has ordered the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay restitution to the families of three people killed in a terrorist shooting attack in 2001. The decision concludes a 2009 lawsuit the victims’ families brought against the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Yaniv Ben Shalom, 27, his wife, Sharon, 26, and her brother, Doron Yosef Sviri, 20, were driving along the Jerusalem-Modiin road on Aug. 25, 2001, when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car. Yaniv and Sharon Ben Shalom were killed instantly, and their two young daughters were injured. Sviri was fatally wounded and died the following day.

The court found that the weapons used to commit the murders and money had been transferred from the PA to the commanders of terrorist cells, and that the PA was aware what they would be used for.

Since the PA failed in its duty to ensure that no one was injured by the weapons it supplied, it is required to pay restitution, the court said. The case has now been set aside to collect evidence to determine how much compensation the PA will pay to the victims’ families.