A US Federal Court Just Ordered the Palestinian Authority to Pay $218 Million in Damages

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Today's decision exposes the PA's legal vulnerabilities over its members' and constituent groups' connection to terrorism against Israelis. This ruling, along with its ongoing financial instability means that the PA will have to proceed cautiously in potential ICC cases against Israel, according to Grant Rumley, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“If Abbas is responsible for even the most loosely affiliated foot soldiers during the Second Intifada over a decade ago, what do you think his level of responsibility is for Hamas rockets after having signed a reconciliation agreement and forming a unity government with them?,” Rumley explained to Business Insider. “That's the question that's going to rack the Palestinian leadership.”

The decision restrains Abbas's range of options at a time when the Palestinian president is facing fiancial shortfalls and pressure from a number of would-be successors, including Hamas, and the exiled former Gaza security chief Mohammad Dahlan.
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