Bombing victim’s family wins appeal to sue PA

The family of an American contractor killed in the Gaza Strip can sue the Palestinian Authority, a U.S. appeals court ruled.

Saturday’s ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington overturns a ruling last year by the U.S. District Court in Washington in favor of the PA.

Mark Parsons and two other security guards were protecting a State Department convoy on the way to Gaza City to interview Palestinian Fulbright applicants in 2003 when a roadside bomb detonated, killing Parsons and the other guards.

Parsons’ family sued the Palestinian Authority under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991, alleging that the PA had provided material support for and conspired with the terrorists who detonated the bomb. Specifically the suit alleges that PA soldiers did not stop terrorists from planting the bombs and gave them information about the approaching convoy. The suit also accuses the PA of providing the terrorists with explosives.

The Gaza Strip was under the authority of the PA in 2003.