The PA said a New York State court released $30 million in funds that
had been frozen by a Rhode Island judge in a suit by the family of a slain
American-Israeli couple. The Palestine Monetary Authority said the decision
by the New York Supreme Court enables the PA to claim money in the United
States for the first time since 2005.
"The PMA will now proceed to reengage in its full range of statutory
responsibilities of safeguarding monetary and financial stability and
promoting economic growth," PMA Gov. George Abed told a news conference in
Ramallah on April 7.
On April 2, the Supreme Court issued the ruling in favor of the PA. The
decision concerned an attempt by the family of Yaron Ungar to collect on an
award against the PA in connection with the Hamas shooting death of him and
his wife in 1996 in Israel.
In the ruling, the Supreme Court did not decide on the Ungar suit.
Instead, the court ruled that the Palestine Monetary Authority was a
separate entity from the PA.
"We are now free to operate in dollars in the U.S. and elsewhere," Abed
said.
PMA was established in 1994 and meant to serve as a central bank for the
PA. Its functions were said to include securing the Palestinian banking
system and encouraging economic growth.
In 2004, the Ungar family won a judgement for $116 million in their suit
against the PA. A year later, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered a
freeze of all PA assets in the United States to pay for the award to the
Ungars. Attorneys said the Ungars would appeal the New York State Supreme
Court decision.
