New York – A New York court has ordered $30 million in Palestine Monetary Authority funds unfrozen and allowed it to resume operations in the United States after a court fight stemming from a 1996 Hamas attack.
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At a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Authority said, the ruling by the Supreme Court of the State of New York cleared the way for it to carry out functions as the Palestinian central bank.
It had been unable to access the funds or carry out U.S. dollar transactions since 2005 because of a years-old court case brought by the family of Yaron Ungar, an American who was killed along with his wife in the 1996 shooting in Israel.
The suit alleged that the Palestinian Authority was culpable because it failed to take steps to stop Hamas militants from carrying out such attacks.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York said the Palestine Monetary Authority “is a separate entity from the Palestinian Authority and the money in its name … should be released.”
“We’re very, very pleased it’s over,” said George Abed, the Palestine Monetary Authority’s governor.
Abed said the order would take effect within days. “We are now free to operate in dollars in the U.S. and elsewhere,” he said. [Reuters]
