A Jerusalem District Court ordered the seizure of NIS 50 million, or $13.6 million, from the Palestinian Authority following the lawsuit filed by Rabbi Leo Dee and his family, two years after the murder of his wife and two of his daughters, according to a statement made on behalf of the family.
Rabbi Leo Dee and his family have filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for the murder of his wife and two daughters in October 2024, demanding compensation after a shooting attack that claimed the lives of his deceased loved ones. The case was filed with the claim that the Palestinian Authority supports terrorism and the murder was committed by Hamas terrorists.
Rabbi Dee, who is British-Israeli, spoke to the Jewish Chronicle when he visited the UK last year. He criticized the PA’s “pay for slay” system, also known as the “Martyrs’ Fund,” which pays monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israelis.
"It's the largest terror funding scheme in the world,” Dee stated.
On April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later.
"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack."
Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."
'First step in a long process of recovery'
Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible.
In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities.
In alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.
In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts.
This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.