The Jerusalem District Court ruled Thursday in a series of decisions that the Palestinian Authority (PA) must pay over 80 million shekels, or more than $21,000, to 39 individuals suspected by the PA of collaborating with Israel.
This compensation is awarded for the murder and torture of some of these collaborators. The 39 cases are among nearly 80 lawsuits currently under consideration by the district court.
The Palestinian Authority tortured the collaborators on suspicion of aiding Israel in thwarting terrorist activities. In a 2017 ruling by Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Drori, it was determined that the PA indeed tortured these collaborators.
However, Drori, who has since retired, left the question of compensation to Judge Miriam Ilani. In a series of rulings issued over the past month, Ilani awarded the collaborators a total of approximately 80 million shekels in compensation.
Drori described the torture as "numerous and brutal," detailing various methods used on the plaintiffs, including beatings with electric cables, metal rods and antennas; sleep deprivation; binding in painful positions; denial of access to restrooms and showers; stuffing a rag soiled with excrement into their mouths; extinguishing cigarettes on their bodies; starvation; and genital beatings.
In one case, a plaintiff was stoned, tied to a wall with a towel soaked in toilet water stuffed into his mouth, subjected to hot plastic being placed on his hand, had his head forced into a toilet, and was urinated and defecated on. The plaintiff reported that the severe torture ceased only after he confessed to the crimes attributed to him.
Despite the court's rulings, the case is not yet concluded. The law firm Arbus Kedem Tzur, representing hundreds of terror attack victims, is fighting to include collaborators under a new compensation law, potentially granting additional punitive damages to each plaintiff who became disabled due to PA torture. Both parties are currently awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on the matter.
Attorneys Aryeh Arbus and Barak Kedem, representing the Israeli collaborators, said in a statement: "We welcome these rulings that bring justice to those who help us combat terrorism. These rulings, along with those expected to follow, not only provide compensation but hold accountable an evil entity that fosters terrorism. The decisions send a clear message that Israel will do everything in its power to ensure the safety of collaborators who aid us in our fight against terror. Without the Palestinian Authority, Hamas could not operate as it does."