According to a INN report, A New York court has ruled that the Palestinian Monetary Authority, which functions as the central bank of the PA, could not be held liable for damages to victims of terrorist attacks by Hamas and Fatah, the two groups that govern the PA. As a result, money that had been frozen as a result of a lawsuit by families of terror victims seeking restitution would be released to the PA.

According to Supreme Court of the State of New York, the Palestinian Monetary Authority “is a separate entity from the Palestinian Authority and the money in its name … should be released.”

The lawsuit had been brought by the family of Yaron Ungar, an American who was killed along with his wife in a 1996 terror attack in Israel. The decision affects only the assets of the PMA. According to a 2004 court decision in a U.S. Federal Court, Hamas, sponsor of the attack, is required to pay the family $116 million.