Washington, March 1, SPA -- The Bush administration on Friday declined a request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to intervene to stop compensation payments in legal cases won by the families of American victims of Palestinian violence, U.S. officials said.“We are declining the statement of interest in this case,” said State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey. Under the U.S. legal system, the president can decide in cases of national strategic importance “to declare an interest” in a court case and call for a lawsuit to be dropped. The Bush administration said earlier this month it was considering whether to back a request from Abbas to avoid paying compensation to U.S. victims of attacks in favor of a broader interest in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Palestinians have argued that U.S. financial aid would be diverted to compensation payments and leave the Palestinian Authority bankrupt. The Justice Department said it would not intervene in the Palestinian case but left open the possibility of intervening in other similar cases. “The United States supports just compensation for victims of terrorism from those responsible for their losses and has encouraged all parties to resolve these cases to their mutual benefit,” it said.“At the same time, the United States remains concerned about the potentially significant impact that these cases may have on the financial and political viability of the defendants,” the department wrote.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/531875