Lawsuit by Israeli Terror Victims Can Proceed
By CHAD BRAY,
A federal judge in Brooklyn said yesterday that a lawsuit against National Westminster Bank PLC by victims of terrorist attacks in Israel and their families should be allowed to go forward.
In an opinion issued yesterday, Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Sifton said two of three claims can proceed. They allege that NatWest provided material support and resources to a terrorist organization by providing financial services to several charities that are alleged to have ties to Hamas.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Brooklyn last year on behalf of individuals injured or killed in 10 terrorist attacks in Israel in 2002 and 2003 or their surviving family members.
"There is still a long way to go, but it is now abundantly clear that the victims will get their day in court, and we very much look forward to presenting the evidence at trial," a lawyer for the defendants, Robert Swift, said in a statement.
Yesterday, Judge Sifton threw out a claim that NatWest aided and abetted the murder or serious bodily injury of American nationals by its provision of services to Interpal, a London-based charity that allegedly acts as a fundraising arm for Hamas. The judge gave the plaintiffs leave to file an amended complaint on that claim within 30 days.
The judge allowed to go forward claims that NatWest knowingly provided material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization by providing financial services to Interpal and several other charities believed to financially support Hamas.
He also allowed to proceed claims that NatWest unlawfully and willfully provided or collected funds with the intention that such funds be used or with the knowledge that such funds would be used for terrorist purposes through its financial dealings with Interpal and other charities.
NatWest has denied wrongdoing in the matter, saying it didn't directly or knowingly provide support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The bank also has argued that providing and collecting funds under federal law requires active donations or fund-raising activities, rather than routine maintenance of bank accounts and processing of deposits and withdrawals.
A lawyer for NatWest didn't immediately return a phone call for comment late yesterday.
NatWest is a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, one of the world's largest banks.
