Palestinian bank set to reopoen in NY

Court rules bank not linked to PA; $30 million of frozen funds to be released.

A US court has authorized the reopening of a Palestinian bank in New York and ordered the transfer of $30 million to the Palestinian Central Bank. The decision was made after the court ruled last week that the bank was a separate body which was not linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The bank was ordered to discontinue operating in 2005 as a part of the general decision to freeze PA funds. That move followed a court case filed by the family of Yaron Ungar, a Brooklyn-born rabbinical student, killed along with his wife Efrat in a 1996 shooting. That suit held the PA responsible for not preventing such attacks. The Supreme Court of the State of New York said the Palestine Monetary Authority "is a separate entity from the Palestinian Authority and the money in its name should be released."