In a decision on July 13, the judge said she would instruct the jury in
federal district court in Brooklyn, N.Y. to conclude that the Arab Bank
worked with Hamas and other organizations deemed by the State Department as
terrorist. The bank has failed to obey a court order to produce thousands of
documents demanded by 800 plaintiffs in their six-year-old suit.
"I am satisfied that plaintiffs have shown the high likelihood that the
withheld documents would show repeated transfers by the bank to terrorists,
terrorist organizations or their fronts, or on their behalf," Ms. Gershon
wrote.
Arab Bank, reported to have $50 billion in assets,
said it could not release the requested documents without violating secrecy
laws. The bank said it had already produced hundreds of thousands of
documents.
"In compliance with the New York court's orders in this litigation, Arab
Bank has produced hundreds of thousands of documents and successfully sought
waivers from bank secrecy laws in several countries where it operates" Arab
Bank, which has a New York branch, said. "Where the bank was unable to obtain
such waivers from the appropriate authorities in certain countries, it
elected not to violate these laws. The bank's actions were taken in good
faith."
A date for the Arab Bank trial has not yet been set. The American and
Israeli plaintiffs have charged that Arab Bank processed Saudi funds to Hamas and
other insurgency groups involved in attacks on Israeli civilians. For its
part, the bank has retained three Israeli security analysts to testify that
the financial institution was not linked to the Iranian-supported Hamas.
So far, the bank has agreed to pay $24 million and admit to inadequate
controls over money-laundering. In May 2010, Arab Bank closed two of
its three branches in the Gaza Strip.
The plaintiffs said Ms. Gershon's decision would help their case. Many
of the documents sought include e-mails and internal memos said to identify
Arab Bank clients.
"This will be a precedent that will help victims of terrorism bring
cases against banks and others who help finance terrorism," Mark Werbner, an
attorney for the plaintiffs, said.
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