Israel Matzav

'Palestinian Authority' settles terror case in the US

The 'Palestinian Authority' has reached a settlement with the family of Yaron (pictured) and Efrat Unger, who were murdered by 'Palestinian terrorists' as they returned from a wedding in 1996. No details of the settlement have been disclosed.

The Palestinian Authority has settled a lawsuit in Rhode Island over the 1996 slayings of a couple in Israel.

Court papers filed Monday reveal that a settlement agreement has been reached, but no details were released. They also show that a $116 million default judgment entered by a judge against the Palestinian Authority for failing to respond to the lawsuit has been vacated.

Martin Solomon cites this report from the World Jewish Congress:

Yaron Ungar, a 25-year-old US citizen, and his pregnant wife Efrat, were killed by Palestinian gunmen while returning from a wedding. The infant son Yishai survived the attack unharmed. Family members of the Ungars sued in 2000 in Rhode Island, where the family’s lawyer practices. The suit was one of several brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a federal statute enacted after a disabled Jewish-American was killed when terrorists hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985. The law that allows US citizens to recover damages for terrorists acts committed overseas.

The Ungers were murdered by Hamas, but Elder of Ziyon notes Arabic media reports that Islamic Jihad is furious with the 'Palestinian Authority' for agreeing to a settlement.

Islamic Jihad is very upset at the PA for agreeing to a settlement. Sheikh Khader Habib called the agreement "rubbish" and is demanding that the PA apologize to the Palestinian Arabs for even considering payment. He called it "a stab in the heart of Palestinian struggle."

Elder also notes that the murder occurred at the height of the Oslo process and questions whether Israel is safer when the 'peace process' is moribund. The answer is that yes, we are. Here are statistics for the number of Israelis killed in terror attacks from 1948-2006.

Note that by 1994, terror attacks have spiked to a level not seen since 1948 (when the British were in charge for the first five months).

I discussed the Unger case previously here and here.

It's unfortunate that the settlement terms are not known. I hope they got a lot of money.

Labels: Palestinian terrorism, terror victim suits in US, Yaron and Efrat Unger

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:40 PM