A Palestinian terrorist who held Israelis hostage in Gaza told his captives that Hamas was coordinating with “allies” on US college campuses and in the media, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, was filed on Friday by former Israeli hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. They were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian terrorists invaded Israel.
According to the suit and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the three were held in a Gaza apartment by Abdallah Aljamal. Aljamal was a writer for the Palestine Chronicle, a Washington state-based news outlet operated by the People Media Project, a US-based, tax-exempt nonprofit. The suit, backed by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, was filed in a federal court in Washington.
The complaint stated that the Palestine Chronicle gave Aljamal a platform to “disseminate Hamas propaganda,” and provide material support to Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organization, in violation of international law.
Ziv stated in the complaint that Aljamal “repeatedly expressed his hatred for the State of Israel and the United States,” and told his captives that “Hamas was in contact and actively coordinating with its affiliates in the media and on college campuses.”
A Hamas member who held Israelis hostage in Gaza told the captives that the terror group was coordinating with “allies” on college campuses and in the media, according to a lawsuit filed in US court on Friday. According to the complaint, Aljamal also told the hostages that “Hamas was going to ensure that the United States, as well as Jews and Israelis, are hated everywhere and that Hamas in Gaza was coordinating with its allies, including its allies in the media and on college campuses, to foment hatred against Israel and Jews.”
The hostages stated that Aljamal was communicating with terror groups, recording footage, and writing about their captivity. According to the complaint, all three were “terrorized” during their captivity, subjected to arbitrary punishment, as well as physical and psychological abuse.
In June, the IDF rescued the hostages after they had suffered 246 days in captivity. During the same operation, Israeli soldiers also rescued hostage Noa Argamani, who was being held nearby. Aljamal, his wife Fatima, and his father Ahmad were all killed during the rescue operation in the family home.
It has been previously revealed that Hamas has been paying Palestinians to hold hostages in their Gaza homes. According to the suit, because of the outlet’s tax-exempt status, US taxpayers were subsidizing Hamas propaganda being published to a US audience, adding that his salary enabled him to imprison the hostages.
The Palestine Chronicle had reported about campus protests in the US, and in August 2024, published an article about Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal encouraging college students to protest against Israel.
Aljamal was previously a spokesperson for the Hamas-run labor ministry in Gaza and covered the terrorist enclave during Israel’s offensive for the Palestine Chronicle. Many of his articles focused on IDF operations in Nuseirat which eventually led to the rescue of the hostages. Aljamal openly discussed his affiliation with Hamas. He appeared publicly in Arabic media as a spokesperson and posted Hamas graphics and photos of his son wearing a Hamas headband on social media. He began writing for the Chronicle in 2019 while serving as a spokesperson for Hamas’s labor ministry.
The Palestine Chronicle announced the death of Aljamal as one of those who were killed during the hostage rescue mission but didn’t mention that he was holding hostages in his home. The outlet’s editor Ramzy Baroud, who is listed as a defendant, previously worked for terrorist mouthpieces such as the Middle East Eye and The Brunei Times. He was also the former Deputy Managing Editor of Al Jazeera Online, an outlet that he and Aljamal had previously co-authored an article for in 2019. Additionally, Baroud and Aljamal are from the same town in Gaza. Al Jazeera has since been expelled from Israel and the West Bank for its ties to terror.
Since the IDF raid that killed Aljamal, Baroud has spoken at events organized by Samidoun, recently designated as a terrorist organization by both the US and Canada. At a Seattle rally for Hamas, Baroud described Oct 7 as the "birth of a miracle" & "courage like no other" which he said has "led us in a march for freedom."
Baroud’s daughter Zarefah, is employed by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), one of the leading organizers of the US college campus protests and riots against Israel.
In July, another “journalist” of the Chronicle was accused of having ties to terror and even posting instructional videos of how best to stab Israelis.
According to the Times of Israel, Aljamal appears to have had knowledge of the Oct 7 massacre before it happened. He posted on TikTok at 5:43 am, 45 minutes before the attack began, “O God, guide us… O God, grant us the victory that you promised. O God, acceptance, acceptance, acceptance… Your victory, O God,” followed by a heart emoji. Following the attack, he reportedly praised the atrocities on Facebook. He began writing more often for the Chronicle following the attack, publishing multiple articles per day, while he was holding the Israelis captive and communicating with the outlet’s staff in the US.
According to the complaint, Aljamal’s social media activity, personal correspondence with the defendants, and position with Hamas, indicate that the defendants were aware of his connections to the terror group. Immediately after the hostages were rescued from Aljamal’s home, the Chronicle changed his title on its website from “correspondent” to “contributor,” then “freelance contributor” writing on “a voluntary basis.” Following his death, the outlet eulogized him in an article, calling him a “well-known journalist murdered in Gaza,” and posted a denial that he had been holding the hostages.
The Palestine Chronicle has not responded to requests for comment.