Victims of 2004 Taba bombing sue Hilton hotel chain in Israel

Some 100 people injured and family members of those killed in the 2004 Taba Hilton bombing filed a suit against the hotel chain in the Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday, arguing that the owners did not take minimum security precautions that could have prevented the attack.

The suit, filed by attorney Moshe Zingel, claims that the hotel owners were negligent in not taking minimal security measures.

The plaintiffs are seeking about $70 million in compensation for medical expenses, pain, emotional trauma and lost earnings.

The attack took place on October 7, 2004, when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into the hotel lobby.

The attack killed 33 people, including 13 Israelis.

Immediately following the attack, Zingel began negotiating compensation with Hilton representatives in Cairo and London.

However, in 2005, the company announced that it was not responsible for damages caused by terror attacks.

Zingel then filed suit in New York, where the Hilton management is located, but after a year and a half of deliberations, the court ruled that the trial should be held in Egypt or Israel.

The latest suit alleges that Hilton management ignored advance warnings about the attack, and did not place guards on the road leading to the hotel, a measure that could have blocked the car bomb, and that it did not ensure that the injured parties received medical care after the explosion.

"Even one guard stationed at the hotel entrance, or any kind of impediment or roadblock ... would easily have prevented the car from entering the hotel," the suit says.

The law office representing the Hilton chain, Levitan-Sharon, did not respond.