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BERNSTEIN V. CLINTON

24 Americans citizens living in Israel, some of whom have been victims of Palestinian terrorism, filed a civil action lawsuit against the State Department claiming that the U.S. government is funding Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza.

As Americans living in the closest proximity to these Palestinian terror organizations, they are in the class of individuals that Congress sought to protect through the safeguards and regulations that the White House, State Department and USAID are disregarding. The case was filed November 26, 2012, at the District Court for the District of Columbia.

The complaint specifies that the State Department allocated $200 million to the PA in 2012, knowing that a significant amount of that money would reach Congressionally-recognized terrorist organizations operating within the West Bank and Gaza, including Hamas and the PLO. These actions were in violation of the many federal statutes including the Antiterrorism Act.

The complaint also specified that USAID, as of May 16, 2012, was regularly involved in many cooperative agreements and contracts with PA operatives controlled by Hamas.

The complaint cited ample evidence that the PA incites, supports and directly funds terrorism in cooperation with numerous terrorist organizations. The complaint further showed that without the State Department and USAID funding, the PA wouldn’t be able to support these terrorist acts.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on April 1, 2013. The Defendants claimed that the Plaintiffs lacked standing, and characterized the complaint as a disagreement over foreign policy.

The Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss, and the plaintiffs appealed.  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to issue its decision.