TERRORISM Families of U.S. citizens killed in Israel attacks sue Arab Bank

The bank said the allegations are false and irresponsible.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Families of U.S. citizens killed or hurt in terrorist attacks in Israel filed an $875 million lawsuit against Arab Bank, accusing it of channeling money to Palestinian terrorist groups and making insurance payments to beneficiaries of suicide bombers.
The lawsuit, filed late last week in federal court, claims the Jordan-based bank's New York branch laundered Saudi aid to terrorists. The branch first converted the money into dollars and then sent it to local branches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip where it was paid out to terrorists and terrorist organizations, the suit alleges.
Insurance allegation
The bank also worked with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to distribute insurance money to beneficiaries of suicide bombers, including their families and those wounded or captured by Israeli security forces, the lawsuit alleges.
"We have a mountain of evidence that will prove that the bank not only knows about the terror financing, but is actively involved and using its New York branch to launder the money," Mark Werbner, the lead attorney for the families, said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
Officials with Arab Bank, which is based in Amman, Jordan, said in a prepared statement issued from New York that they had not seen the complaint but that allegations they transferred funds inappropriately from Saudi Arabia to terrorists or their families are "completely false and totally irresponsible."
Arab Bank has "a deserved reputation for sound, ethical operations," the statement said.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Linde vs. Arab Bank, are six U.S. families whose members have died or been hurt in attacks in Israel.
Among them is Courtney Linde, the widow of John Linde Jr., a security guard from Missouri who died when a bomb tore apart a vehicle in a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip last October.
Arab Bank has 30 branches across the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Australia and North Africa.