They cited the freezing of $200,000 in two PLO mission bank accounts in 2005
in wake of a judgement for the children of Yaron Ungar, an American killed
in Israel in a 1996 Palestinian attack.
"There has been a rethinking in the State Department that I
wholeheartedly welcome," Afif Safieh, PLO mission in Washington, told the
Washington Post.
A U.S. court awarded Ungar's relatives $116 million, which the PA has
not paid, Middle East Newsline reported. U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero asked the administration
whether it would issue a statement of interest in the case. Marrero gave the
government until the end of February to reply.
"A court has asked the U.S. government to inform it whether it is
contemplating filing a statement of interest, but no decision has been made
on how the U.S. government will respond," State Department spokesman Tom
Casey said.
In meetings with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Fayyad was said to
have reiterated his plea to protect the PA from lawsuits. The Zionist
Organization of America has urged the administration to reject the PA
request.
"It is wrong for the Bush administration to even consider assisting the
PA in fending off lawsuits through which the families of victims of
Palestinian terrorism have sought a measure of justice against the murderers
of their family members," ZOA president Morton Klein said. "The fact that it
is considering altering its position, formerly upheld by Secretary Rice,
that the U.S is not a party to the cases and that the relevant court orders
are enforceable, was never announced and appears to have emerged solely
because PA officials disclosed it."
In January 2007, Ms. Rice wrote PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that the Ungar
case had been brought to the Supreme Court, which refused to review it. She
said the judgement against the PA would be enforced in U.S. courts and urged
Abbas to offer a settlement.
"The United States is not party to these enforcement proceedings," Ms.
Rice wrote.
On Wednesday, families of victims of Palestinian attacks were scheduled
to meet State Department and Justice Department officials. The families
warned that any intervention by the administration would undermine the
U.S.-led war against Al Qaida and its allies.
"If the State Department tips the scales of justice against the victims
in order to support adjudicated terrorists, the war on terrorism will be
seen throughout the world as a farce," David Strachman, an attorney who
brought many of the lawsuits, said.
