Former Israeli hostage sues US nonprofit for allegedly paying Hamas operative who held him captive

A hostage kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel has filed a lawsuit against a United States nonprofit organization that he alleges provided financial support to the militant who imprisoned him before his rescue by the Israel Defense Forces, according to court records.

Almog Meir Jan, an Israeli citizen who said he was kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival and held for 246 days in the Gaza Strip, sued the U.S.-based People Media Project in a tort lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington state on Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit, Jan, 22, was rescued from the home of a Hamas operative named Abdallah Aljamal, who served as one of the militant group's designated spokespeople who had contributed writings to the website Palestine Chronicle, which is operated by the People Media Project.

The People Media Project is a nonprofit organization registered in Washington state whose senior leadership also are listed as top editors for the Palestine Chronicle.

The Palestine Chronicle's website describes the nonprofit's mission as educating "the general public by providing a forum that strives to highlight issues of relevance to human rights, national struggles, freedom and democracy in the form of daily news, commentary, features, TV programs, podcasts, book reviews, photos, art, in addition to media and other speaking engagements."

"Following the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, while Hamas Operative Aljamal imprisoned Plaintiff, Defendants permitted Hamas Operative Aljamal to use their platform to whitewash Hamas’s crimes and attract international support for its terrorist cause," the lawsuit alleges.

"By providing this platform to Hamas Operative Aljamal and compensating Hamas Operative Aljamal for his propaganda, Defendants aided, abetted, and materially supported both Hamas Operative Aljamal and Hamas itself in their acts of terrorism, including kidnapping and holding Plaintiff hostage for 246 days, in violation of international law."

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Aljamal was killed during the IDF's operation to rescue Jan and two other hostages on June 8, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit points to articles as early as 2019, written by Aljamal and posted on the Palestine Chronicle's website, during a time when he also allegedly identified himself publicly, according to the lawsuit, as a spokesperson for Hamas' Ministry of Labor.

During his captivity at Aljamal's home, Jan alleges, he was "abused and mistreated" over an "excruciating" 8-month period, all while Aljamal continued to publish written pieces in the Palestine Chronicle -- including some that described the Oct. 7 attacks as "daring" and others that the lawsuit says sought to "whitewash Hamas' crimes and attract international support for its terrorist cause."

"Most disturbingly, because of the Palestine Chronicle’s tax-exempt status, Hamas Operative Aljamal’s propaganda, as well as his hostage-taking, was actually subsidized by U.S. taxpayers," the lawsuit says.

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Following the rescue operation, the lawsuit further alleges the Palestine Chronicle sought to distance itself from Aljamal by changing his description as writer from "correspondent for the Palestine Chronicle" to "contributor," and released a statement describing him as a "freelance contributor" who wrote on "a voluntary basis."

ABC News has reached out to representatives with the People Media Project and did not immediately receive a response to the lawsuit's allegations.

Attorneys for the organization have not yet entered an appearance on the lawsuit's docket as of Wednesday evening.

Former Israeli hostage sues US nonprofit for allegedly paying Hamas operative who held him captive originally appeared on abcnews.go.com