The Palestinian Authority will pay out 13.2 million shekels [$3.62 million] in compensation to 52 Palestinians whom it imprisoned without due process because PA authorities suspected they were collaborating with Israel, the Jerusalem District Court ruled Thursday.
In July 2017, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that the PA had tortured 52 Palestinians who collaborated with Israel. The ruling included a detailed description of the acts to which the 52 individuals were subjected.
The precedent-setting, 2,000-page ruling marked a victory for Palestinians who fled the PA-controlled areas and resettled in Israel.
Five lawsuits involving dozens of plaintiffs were filed against the Palestinian Authority over its crackdown on suspected collaborators, the oldest dating from 14 years ago. Ultimately, the court combined the lawsuits into a single case.
All the plaintiffs said they had been locked up in basements of PA-run detention centers, where interrogators tortured them. Their testimonies told similar, graphic stories of physical and sexual assaults. They also reported executions.
According to Thursday's ruling, the PA will compensate the 52 victims for wrongful imprisonment. Additional compensation for the torture the collaborators endured will be decided upon at a later date.
Attorney Barak Kedem and Arie Abrus, who are representing the collaborators, said Thursday: "We welcome the court's landmark ruling. The judge saw the plaintiffs' disabilities [resulting from torture], understood their distress, and decided to grant them partial compensation immediately."
