US jury: Palestinian authorities to blame for terror attacks

A U.S. jury has decided that Palestinian authorities should be held responsible for terrorist attacks in Israel that killed or wounded Americans.

Jurors also awarded the victims $218.5 million in damages. The jury reached the decision Monday at a civil trial in federal court in Manhattan. The U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act could allow for that to be tripled.

The plaintiffs sued the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in 2004 under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. The law allows victims of U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations to seek compensation.

The plaintiffs said internal documents showed that the Palestinian authorities sanctioned six attacks from 2002 to 2004 that harmed 10 American families. Defense attorneys argued that the attackers acted on their own.