US court orders Iran, Syria liable for attacks in Israel

A U.S. court has ruled that Iran and Syria are liable for compensation for American citizens wounded and killed in a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel, including killing of a U.S. Army veteran.

Judge Randolph D. Moss in U.S. District Court for District of Columbia ruled that Americans wounded and killed in seven attacks carried out by Palestinians were eligible for dams from Iran and Syria because y provided “material support” to militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jih.

court has t yet determined amount of dams. order was posted online Sunday by federal courts.

Syria, Iran and Iranian Ministry of Information of Security, all named as defendants in civil case, did t take part in proceedings.

Collecting dams will be a challenge. American courts have ordered government of Iran to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in dams to families of Americans killed by Palestinian militants before. But since Iran and U.S. have formal diplomatic relations, collecting dams has remained elusive.

Taylor Force, a U.S. Army veteran, was studying in Israel in 2016 when he was stabbed to death by a Palestinian assailant in Tel Aviv. Congress later approved Taylor Force Act, which withholds funding to Palestinians that it said was used to reward families of attackers.