JERUSALEM — The Jerusalem District Court last week awarded a family of terror victims an unprecedented judgment in the amount of N.I.S. 90 million ($20 million) against a Palestinian terrorist organization.  

Six children of the Gavish family brought suit against the Hamas in the  District Court in May
2002 following a brutal terrorist attack on their home which left four members of the household, including both parents, dead. The District Court's decision sought to punish the Hamas for the murders and provide some measure of compensation for the surviving family members.

On the evening of March 28, 2002, a Hamas gunman, armed with an automatic rifle, infiltrated the Gavish family's home in the community of Alon Moreh and opened fire on its inhabitants. The terrorist immediately killed Rachel and David Gavish, 50, their son Avraham Gavish, 20, and Rachel's father Yitzhak Kanner, 83, before being killed himself by neighbors. The
remaining six children, ages 15 to 22, managed to escape out of a second floor window.

The civil action was brought on behalf of the children by Shurat HaDin, which I serve as the director. It is the first time that the Hamas has been successfully sued in an Israeli court.

At trial, we  urged the District Court to find the Hamas organization liable for the four deaths and to award the Gavish family an unprecedented "American-style" judgment amount. The plaintiffs argued that there was no justification nor mitigating circumstances that could rationalize this heinous terrorist attack and that the Palestinian terrorist group should not be provided any leniency by the court.

District Court Judge Aharon Farkash accepted the arguments and his decision established an important legal precedent — the awarding of punitive damages against terrorist defendants— for other victims seeking justice against Palestinian terrorists in the Israeli courts.

The District Court wrote concerning its  rationale for awarding the Gavish family punitive damages: "With no need to elaborate, I believe, that the current case is appropriate for awarding punitive compensation against the defendant. The sinful act of murder justifies such an award. It
is a terrorist action, which was done with intent and full awareness to cause the death of the victims and the damage to their families, since there is no other explanation for this act. Behind the act is a pure hatred that brought about the death of the decedents and a very difficult and traumatic experience upon the plaintiffs - their survivors."

On Sunday, Feb. 5, one of the plaintiffs in the case, Yeshurun Gavish, found himself in the vicinity of another terrorist attack. When a Palestinian passenger riding on a mini-bus traveling in the city of Petah Tikva, began to stab fellow bus riders, Gavish who was nearby, quickly responded to
the victims' cries for help. He drew his pistol and charging the terrorist, managed to overpower the attacker before he could stab any additional passengers. Tragically, one women was killed in the attack.