Palestine Chronicle, a Washington-based news outlet, must face a lawsuit filed by three former Israeli hostages who allege the organization knowingly paid their Hamas-operative captor, Abdallah Aljamal, according to a federal judge's ruling on Tuesday.
The hostages, Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv, and Andrey Kozlov, were kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, and were later rescued by the Israel Defense Forces from Aljamal's home eight months later.
Palestine Chronicle's Involvement with Hamas
Palestine Chronicle leadership has claimed there is no evidence its staff was aware of Aljamal's involvement in the kidnapping and argued that its payments to the Hamas operative had no impact on the hostages. However, Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright said the news outlet's arguments were unpersuasive, and ruled that the plaintiffs' case is strong enough to move to the trial and discovery process.
The court found that the facts presented by the former hostages support a reasonable inference that the Palestine Chronicle knew Aljamal was affiliated with Hamas and involved in the October 7 attack. The court also concluded that the timing and extent of Aljamal's employment supported the reasonable inference that the payments provided assistance with substantial effect on Jan's captivity.
Aljamal, a former Hamas spokesman, was killed by the Israel Defense Forces during its successful rescue operation. After October 7, the Palestine Chronicle allegedly coordinated with him to publish Hamas propaganda, including justifications for Aljamal's imprisonment of Israeli citizens.
Lawyers for the former hostages argued that Aljamal's role as an official Hamas spokesman and his social media posts promoting the terrorist group was enough for the Palestine Chronicle and its leadership to have been aware of his involvement in the attack. The Israel Defense Forces ultimately rescued the hostages from Aljamal's home.