RAMALLAH, 9 April 2007 — 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.
At a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Authority said an April 2 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 US dollar transactions since 2005 because of a years-old court case brought by the family of Yaron Ungar, an American killed along with his wife in the 1996 shooting in Israel.
But US lawyer David Strachman, who represents the Ungar family, said the funds were in fact not yet released, and remained frozen. “There are several more steps to go, and we have other mechanisms” in place to pursue the case, he told Reuters in a telephone interview. The suit alleged 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.
“The PMA will now proceed to reengage in its full range of statutory responsibilities of safeguarding monetary and financial stability and promoting economic growth,” he said.
Abed said the order would take effect within days. “We are now free to operate in dollars in the US and elsewhere,” he said.
