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Palestinians sue US settlement supporters for $34.5bn

March 10, 2016 at 9:59 am

A group of American Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank have filed a $34.5 billion lawsuit in a Washington court against several US businessmen, charities, companies and corporate profiteers who support the construction of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The case is brought by Bassem Al-Tamimi an activist and a resident of Nabi Saleh village, who also leads popular resistance against Israeli settlements in the village.

The plaintiffs seek damages from Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate, Irving Moskowitz, a philanthropist with property interests in East Jerusalem, and evangelist John Hagee as well as charities like the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and private firms, including Dead Sea-based cosmetics maker Ahava, UK-based security firm G4S and the industrial powerhouse Israel Chemicals Limited.

“This case is about US individuals and tax-exempt entities intent on taking criminal advantage of the US tax code by taking significant illegal tax write-offs and not reporting billions of dollars in contributions as income; and encouraging and funding wholesale violence and arms trafficking abroad and comprehensive war crimes in order to advance their own political agenda – getting rid of all non-Jews in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territories],” Martin McMahon and Associates, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement published on its website.