El Al said they are honoring it. It sounds like they legally have to so the question is whether this is a legitimate mechila or are they being forced to lose a whole bunch of money.
I booked it and have my flight itinerary in hand. El Al has released a statement saying they will honor it and this was the fault of a third party. By DOT regulations, once they take payment for a ticket, they can not add fees and have to honor it besides for the whole PR mess it would have caused.