Israel seizes $5.2 million from Palestinian Authority for family of terror victims

With the approval of the Jerusalem District Court, the Israeli government seized $5.2 million from the Palestinian Authority (PA) to compensate the family of two brothers murdered in a terror attack

The Yaniv family filed a lawsuit against the PA after Hallel and Yagel Yaniv were killed by a Palestinian terrorist in 2023.

“The lawsuit targets the PA’s policy of paying stipends to terrorists and their families,” Ynet News reported. The successful case was made possible by a law passed in 2024 known as the Compensation for Terror Victims (Exemplary Damages) Law.

The report quoted the Yaniv family’s lawsuit as saying that “senior Palestinian officials openly declare that payments to terrorists are a supreme national value. They have even stated that if the PA had only one shekel left, it would be given to ‘martyrs’ and prisoners.”

Following the 2023 attack that claimed the lives of Hallel and Yagel, their mother, Esti, expressed her profound grief over the loss of her two sons.

“We have suffered a huge slap in the face from God,” she said. “We are trying to find the good things and the grace that we were prepared, that we had a family Shabbat, that we had good conversations with the boys yesterday, that we took family photos. God sends us graces. Even with this painful blow, He sends us graces.”

Their father Shalom said the verdict represented “a step toward justice.”

“Nothing can bring back our sons or ease the pain in our hearts,” he said. “However, the seizure of PA funds is a step toward justice for our family and for the victims of terrorism. It is a just and necessary action, and every family affected by terrorism should take similar steps to send a clear message that those funding terrorism will also pay the price financially.”

Asher Shetov, one of the family’s lawyers, said that the verdict could pave the way for “billions of dollars in compensation for families of terror victims.”

“The Yaniv family’s lawsuit achieves two key goals: providing fair compensation for the family and striking a financial blow to the infrastructure that funds and incentivizes terrorist attacks,” Shetov said.