US court holds Arab Bank liable to victims of Hamas News
US court holds Arab Bank liable to victims of Hamas

[JURIST] A jury for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York [official website] on Monday found the Jordan-based Arab Bank [corporate website] liable for providing material support to Hamas [official website]. The plaintiffs were 300 victims injured in attacks by Hamas against Israel. The jury found that Arab Bank conducted business with leaders and members of Hamas, financing a number of attacks in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem [Bloomberg report] in the early 2000s. A separate trial will be conducted to determine damages. Arab Bank plans to appeal [press release] to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website], claiming the court made significant errors regarding numerous aspects of the trial.

Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of perpetrating war crimes and harming civilians during the conflict between the two nations. The Shurat HaDin [advocacy website] of the Israel Law Center announced earlier this month that they have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor [official websites] to open an investigation on Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal [JURIST report] for alleged war crimes, including summary executions. In July Palestinian officials filed a complaint of their own with the ICC [JURIST report] accusing Israel of war crimes, including apartheid, attacks against civilians, excessive loss of human life and colonization. In March an Egyptian court ruled that Hamas is a terrorist organization [JURIST report] and banned all activities by the group in Egypt.

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