A federal judge in Manhattan, George B. Daniels, ordered the Palestinian Authority (PA) to post a $10 million bond and pay $1 million more per month as it appeals a verdict that found it liable for a series of terrorist attacks in Israel that killed 33 people and injured over 450, The New York Times reported today.

The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization in February were found liable in the attacks, which occurred between 2002 and 2004, after a lengthy civil trial brought under an antiterrorism law that provided for a tripling of the jury’s damages award of $218.5 million, for a total of $655.5 million. …

On Aug. 10, the Justice Department filed an unusual “Statement of Interest of the United States of America,” asking that Judge Daniels “carefully consider” the size of the bond that he would require for an appeal.

The filing said that the government “strongly supports the rights of victims of terrorism to vindicate their interests in federal court and to receive just compensation for their injuries.”

According to the Times, Antony J. Blinken, the deputy secretary of state, suggested that a bond that was set too high could lead to the PA’s “insolvency and collapse,” which would harm U.S. interests.

However, the Associated Press reported that the plaintiffs’ attorney, Kent Yalowitz, asserted that the PA has sufficient funds to cover the bond.

Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer representing victims and survivors of attacks that killed 33 people and injured hundreds more, had asked that the Palestinians pay $20 million, describing the ordered payment as a “rounding error” for them. He has said the Palestinian Authority has more than enough funds to make a higher bond payment, arguing it spends $60 million annually on paying terrorists held in Israeli prisons.

“I’m disappointed in the amount,” he said. “I’m eager to get the appellate process completed.”

The terror trial began in January of this year, with plaintiffs seeking $1 billion from the PLO and its successor, the Palestinian Authority. In February, the jury awarded the victims $218.5 million, an amount which tripled under provisions of a 1990 anti-terrorism law.

In September of last year, Jordan’s largest bank, called Arab Bank, was found liable for its role in funding a wave of Hamas suicide attacks during the early 2000s by a federal court in Brooklyn .

[Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90 ]