The Israeli District Court in Jerusalem has ordered the Palestinian Authority (PA) and six Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to pay NIS62m ($18m) in compensation for Israeli settlers killed in 2001, Quds Press reported on Sunday.

Reporting Israeli media, Quds Press said that the six Palestinians, from the former Fatah’s military wing Al-Aqsa Brigades, were accused of shooting and killing three Israeli Jewish settlers in the south of the West Bank city of Ramallah in August 2001.

Israeli TV Channel 10 and Quds Press said, reported that if the PA refused to pay the money, the Israeli authorities would deduct the money from the taxes it collects on behalf of the PA.

The Israeli court ruled that the NIS62m would be paid for the families of the three dead Israeli settlers and the remaining money to be paid for the legal expenses, including the fees of the layers.

Quds Press said that the Israeli court claimed that the PA had assisted the Palestinian in carrying out the shooting as it supplied them with money and arms.

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