Washington state news outlet faces lawsuit after employing Hamas ‘journalist’ who held Israelis hostage in Gaza

The lawsuit, filed in Washington federal court, targets the Palestine Chronicle, a nonprofit news outlet operated by the People Media Project, a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization. The plaintiffs—Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv, and Andry Kozlov—were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on the Nova Music Festival and held captive for eight months in Gaza before being rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The central figure in the case is Abdallah Aljamal, a Gaza-based writer and former Hamas spokesman, whose house the hostages were found being held prisoners in when the IDF came to rescue them. While acting as their captor, Aljamal also reportedly continued publishing articles for the Palestine Chronicle, disseminating content the lawsuit claims amounted to Hamas propaganda.

US District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright denied the Chronicle’s motion to dismiss the case, stating that the evidence presented by the plaintiffs supports a “reasonable inference” that the media outlet was aware of Aljamal’s ties to Hamas and his involvement in the October 7 attack. Cartwright ruled that the case will proceed to discovery and trial.

“Plaintiffs allege that Defendants had actual knowledge that Aljamal was a Hamas operative in the months following the October 7 attacks, when it was commonly known that Hamas was holding Israeli hostages in Gaza,” Cartwright wrote. She further noted that the timing and nature of Aljamal’s employment “supported the reasonable inference that the payments provided assistance with substantial effect on Jan’s captivity.”

The Chronicle has claimed it did not know Aljamal’s role in the kidnappings, and that its financial support of him as a contributor had no impact on the hostages’ situation. However, the hostages' attorneys argue otherwise, pointing to Aljamal’s public role as a Hamas spokesman, social media posts glorifying the October 7 attacks, and repeated publication of Hamas-aligned messaging. The suit claims that Aljamal’s relationship with the Chronicle was not incidental but actively enabled his conduct.

According to the complaint, Aljamal boasted to the hostages of Hamas's connections with allies in American media and on college campuses. He also allegedly recorded video footage and authored articles about IDF activity from the very apartment where he held the captives.

The Chronicle has been accused of aiding and abetting a US-designated terrorist organization by giving Aljamal a platform and income that facilitated the captivity. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, including Erielle Davidson of Holtzman Vogel, argue that the Chronicle’s tax-exempt status means American taxpayers were effectively subsidizing Hamas propaganda.

“We applaud the decision of the district court,” Davidson told the Washington Free Beacon. “Under no circumstances should an American 501(c)(3) be platforming and supporting a member of Hamas.”

Aljamal was killed during the IDF operation on his family home that freed the hostages. After the raid, the Palestine Chronicle initially labeled him a “correspondent,” later downgrading his title to “freelance contributor,” and published a eulogy referring to him as a “well-known journalist murdered in Gaza,” while omitting that he was involved in hostage-keeping.

The complaint also highlights broader allegations against the Chronicle's leadership. Editor Ramzy Baroud, also listed as a defendant, has a history of working with media outlets linked to pro-Hamas narratives and has been recorded describing the October 7 attacks as “the birth of a miracle.” His daughter is affiliated with American Muslims for Palestine, one of the groups organizing campus protests against Israel.

The lawsuit is backed by the National Jewish Advocacy Center and alleges that Aljamal's salary from the Chronicle, his known Hamas affiliations, and the outlet’s editorial choices amount to material support for terrorism—a violation of international and US law.