FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 17, 2010

SHURAT HADIN: COURT RULES VICTIMS' SUITS AGAINST
ISLAMIC TERROR GROUPS CAN PROCEED

"Hamas and Islamic Jihad can be Served Court Papers
on their Known Activists"

For many years Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center has been urging the
victims of terrorist attacks to bring lawsuits against those who
devastated their lives and those of their families. Yet, how does an
attorney actually go about serving court papers on a terrorist
organization as the law requires to commence a civil action? One cannot
very well travel into the Gaza Strip to hand Hamas the papers. Its far
too dangerous to enter Jenin, where Fatah's bomb factories are located
and try to catch them at work. Moreover, there are not many process
servers willing to deliver a complaint to Hezbullah for us in South
Lebanon.

This past week, in an unprecedented decision, the Jerusalem District
Court has ruled that lawsuits brought against the terrorist groups could
be served on the "above ground" individuals affiliated with these
underground terror groups. The opinion over turned the decision of a
lower court, which had refused to allow the victims to serve process on
Hamas and Islamic Jihad through well-known activists affiliated with the
Islamic terror groups.

In reversing the lower court, the judge found that a terror organization
is in many ways similar to a "corporation," as defined by the Israeli
law and as such it is similarly subject to legal process through its de
facto "representatives."

The ruling involved two lawsuits filed against Hamas and Islamic Jihad
on behalf of victims of terror attacks and our efforts to serve the
complaints on the Islamic terrorists by delivering them to the
well-known activists of the groups. The first lawsuit was brought on
behalf of the Weinstein family, who lost their son Adam, in a suicide
bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem in December 2001. We filed
against Hamas and delivered the papers to Khaled Abu Arfa, the so-called
Minister for Jerusalem Affairs from the Hamas government in Gaza, who
(rather insanely) lives in East Jerusalem.

The second lawsuit was brought by the families of seventeen terror
victims, who were wounded in a suicide bombing at the Meggido Junction
in June 2002. The civil action
was filed against Islamic Jihad and was served on Bassem Sa'adi, a
convicted terrorist who signed on behalf of the organization in the
"Prisoner's Treaty" (a conciliation agreement between rival Palestinian
terror groups) and who is serving his sentence in an Israeli jail

The plaintiffs in these suits argued that these activists were
authorized to receive service-of-process on behalf of their terror
groups. They claimed that, as they are in constant contact with Hamas
and Islamic Jihad, it was certain that they would make them aware of the
court papers. However, the lower court rejected this reasoning and found
that these were not good deliveries, as the high-ranking activists were
not "officially authorized to receive lawsuits on behalf of the
organizations." As if terror groups appointed agents for service like a
reputable business might.

We appealed this decision, and the Israeli appeals court reversed. The
appeals court's ruling stated that, according to the expert opinions
brought before it by the plaintiffs, both of these officials are
currently in constant contact with their terrorist organizations, and so
it was certain that the suits would be brought to their knowledge. The
appeals court held that the law governing service-of-process to
authorized representatives refers to a "business or place of work," and
although a terror organization is not considered a "business" as that
term is commonly defined, the term can also include "businesses" of
terrorism, and therefore lawsuits can be served upon them in a similar
manner. The court stated, if it were impossible to serve terror
organizations through their activists, and if there were no authorized
address where they can be served, then they would be, for all practical
purposes, immune from suit.

This legal precedent has opened the door to now serve other court
complaints on the terror groups.

For a copy of the decision (in Hebrew):
www.israellawcenter.org/images/pdf2/Hamas%20Service%20Judgment%2C%203.1.10.pdf

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT SHURAT HADIN: info@israellawcenter.org
(US) 212-591-0073
(Israel) 03-751-4175