Palestinians to appeal US court decision

Palestine will appeal against a US court decision imposing a $218-million fine on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), a senior official here said Tuesday.

"The official Palestinian bodies will immediately appeal against the court's decision and we are certain that we will win the appeal," Xinhua news agency quoted Hanan Ashrawi, an official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), as telling reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israelis holding American nationality submitted a suit last month in a court in New York to sue the PNA and asked for compensations for victims who were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians in Israel between 2002 and 2004.

On Monday, the court, which depended on the jury's recommendations, decided that the PNA should pay $218 million to the families of the victims.

The court and the jury decided that because the PNA trained those who carried out the attacks between 2001 and 2004, and financially aided their families, it became fully responsible for the death of the victims.

Ashrawi, who went last month to the court in the US for a testimony, added that "we don't suspect the fairness of the US judiciary system at all".