Sderot sues Palestinian Authority for millions in rocket damages

With the army and government powerless in the face of the incessant rocket attacks launched from Gaza towards southern Israel a group of residents have decided to take matters into their own hands.

Several dozen families from the battered city of Sderot and neighboring communities, including several families who lost loved ones in the attacks, met on Sunday to plan a class action against the Palestinian Authority for the damages inflicted on their person and property in attacks emanating from Palestinian territory.

"We don't really care about the money, it's important to us that the Palestinian Authority be punished for the rockets being fired on Sderot," said an emotional Zimero Yaakobov after the meeting, his brother Yaakov was killed last November when a Qassam rocket crashed into a local poultry factory. "The Palestinian Authority needs to know their actions come with a price, because we have no other way of acting against them and this is our way to fight back," he said.

"The goal of these proceedings is to sue the Palestinian Authority for its crimes, for terror attacks against an innocent civilian population," said Alon Davidi, chairman of the Sderot security staff that served as the driving force behind the initiative in response to the damage brought on by the attacks.

Qassam rocket launched from Gaza (Photo: AFP) 

"We want this class action to resonate in Israel and around the world until finally the media pressure and the legal processings will allow the residents of Sderot to be compensated for the injustice they suffer," said Davidi.

Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner met with the families to begin drafting the lawsuit. "We plan to draft a lawsuit for several million dollars against the Palestinian Authority within several weeks… the PA is responsible for the ongoing attacks," she said.

"Our first step will be demanding the seizure of the funds Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority in taxes, our experience in this field stretches from Israel to throughout the world and the PA will learn that it must pay for the damage caused to the residents of this city," said Darshan-Leitner.

On Sunday as the residents met with their lawyers, Palestinian terror groups launched three Qassam rockets from Gaza towards Israel. The rockets landed in an open area in the western Negev, causing no injuries or damage. The Islamic Jihad said on Sunday it will work to improve the range and accuracy of the rockets in future attacks.