Opinion: Israel supreme court shows double standards on liability

Dr Haim Abraham - Writing in the Conversation, Dr Haim Abraham (UCL Laws) argues that a recent Supreme Court of Israel case unfairly broadens the liability of the Palestinian Authority to compensate Israeli victims of terrorist activities. One of the most basic and intuitive features that is expected of any legal system is to treat similar cases in a similar way. Sadly, when it comes to the law of negligence, Israel is not consistent in its treatment of Palestinians and other (often Jewish) citizens. In the recent case of Plonim v The Palestinian Authority that was handed down by the Supreme Court of Israel - its highest court - this liability gap was further widened. The court ordered the Palestinian Authority to compensate Israeli victims of terrorist activities, due to the fact that the Palestinian Authority provides support payments for individuals that Israel convicts of security offences. This ruling, which comes at a time of growing tensions and clashes between Israel and Palestine, is a step further in creating a liability regime of total liability of Palestine towards Israel. Israel, meanwhile, enjoys a near blanket immunity from liability towards Palestinians.