The bank was sued in January by 15 families including the victims of a bus bombing in Jerusalem on August 19, 2003 that killed 20 people — an attack for which Hamas claimed responsiblity.
The families claimed that Natwest, now part of RBS, enabled Interpal, a charity that provides aid to poor and needy Palestinians, to raise funds through its website despite the US Government identifying it as a fundraiser for Hamas.
A federal court in New York last night approved the lawsuit, according to a statement by the families’ lawyers, which means it may now proceed to trial.
The claimants include Tzvi Weiss, an American rabbinical student injured in the Jerusalem bus bombing while travelling to a wedding, and Daniel Rozenstein, a US citizen living in Israel who was severely injured in a suicide bombing at Mike’s Place, a Tel Aviv bar, in April 2003.
