MidEast

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Senior Fatah Official Sued for $250 Million in Torture Death of Palestinian-American

Top Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub was served with a $250 million civil lawsuit upon landing at JFK airport in New York on Wednesday—legal recourse for the torture and death of Palestinian-American Azzam Rahim.

Rajoub, a high-ranking member of the PA and possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, was served with a cause of action letter and summons to appear in court when he arrived for his first trip to the United States, Ynet News reported. He is named as a defendant in a suit brought by Rahim’s family.

Rahim was arrested in 1995 by the Palestinian Security Forces (PSF), then headed by Rajoub, while visiting family in Ramallah. The plaintiffs claim that in his capacity as head of the PSF, Rajoub played a critical role in the torture and death of Rahim.

Rahim was arrested in the West Bank town of Ein Yabrud by plainclothes officers as he played cards in a cafe. He was later transferred to the Jericho prison where his family attempted to free him but were unsuccessful.

Two days after he was arrested, his body, clad in only pants, was returned to Ein Yabrud. The ambulance driver stated that Rahim had died of a heart attack at a Jericho hospital and recommended that he be buried quickly. But when the family called the hospital, the family was told that he had been dead upon arrival.

An autopsy showed that Rahim had bruises on his body and face, cigarette burn marks on his back and legs, broken teeth, a torn lip and broken ribs. Despite PA claims that he suffered a heart attack, the autopsy revealed no heart damage.

Though the suit was originally filed in 2006, the family had been unable to serve the documents to Rajoub until he landed in the U.S. on Wednesday.

Rajoub has a long record of hostility toward Israel, including lobbying FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, to expel Israel; naming sports tournaments in honor of Palestinian terrorists; regularly comparing Israel to Nazi Germany; and calling a football match between Israeli and Palestinian children “a crime against humanity.” In May 2013, he declared that the Palestinians are enemies of Israel and warned: “in the name of Allah, if we had nuclear weapons, we’d be using them.”

[Photo: Issam Rimawi / Flash90 ]