BREAKING NEWS

Arab Bank reaches settlement with US victims of Hamas suicide bombings in Israel

Arab Bank Plc has agreed to settle litigation brought by hundreds of Americans who accused it of facilitating Hamas attacks in Israel, nearly a year after a US jury found the bank liable.
The settlement was confirmed on Friday by Michael Elsner, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, and a spokesman for Arab Bank. The terms were not disclosed.
Elsner said the framework of the deal would be finalized over the next few months.
A trial had been scheduled to start Monday to begin determining how much the bank would have to pay the victims and their families.
Approximately 500 US citizens who were either victims of two dozen Hamas attacks more than a decade ago or their family members had sued Arab Bank under the US Anti-Terrorism Act, which permits US citizens to pursue claims arising from international terrorism.
In September 2014, a US jury in Brooklyn, New York, found the Jordan-based bank knowingly supported Hamas in carrying out attacks, the first time a bank was held liable in US court for violating the act.
That verdict covered 310 plaintiffs. A source familiar with the litigation said the settlement would include claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act by all 500 plaintiffs.