A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit filed by three Israeli hostages against the Palestine Chronicle, a Washington-based news outlet, can advance to trial, denying the outlet’s motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs—Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv, and Andrey Kozlov—were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on the Nova Music Festival and held by Abdallah Aljamal, a Hamas operative and Gaza correspondent for the nonprofit site.

The hostages, rescued by the Israel Defense Forces from Aljamal’s home eight months later, allege the Palestine Chronicle knowingly paid Aljamal, a former Hamas spokesman, despite his role in their captivity. The outlet claimed it was unaware of Aljamal’s actions and that its payments had no impact on the hostages. However, Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright found these arguments “unpersuasive,” ruling that the plaintiffs presented a strong case for trial.

Cartwright noted that the hostages’ evidence suggests the Palestine Chronicle knew Aljamal was a Hamas operative after October 7, when Hamas’s hostage-taking in Gaza was widely known. She highlighted that Aljamal’s employment timeline and the outlet’s payments support a “reasonable inference” that the funds aided his role in the hostages’ captivity. The court also found that Aljamal’s work with the outlet included publishing “Hamas propaganda,” such as justifications for holding Israeli captives.

The lawsuit points to Aljamal’s public Hamas affiliation, including social media posts featuring his son in Hamas headbands, promotions of Hamas’s intelligence bureau, and celebrations of the October 7 attack. These, the plaintiffs argue, should have alerted the Palestine Chronicle to his terrorist ties. Aljamal was killed during the IDF’s rescue operation.

Erielle Davidson, a lawyer from Holtzman Vogel representing the hostages, praised the ruling as a step toward justice, stating, “No American 501(c)(3) should be platforming a Hamas member.” The decision allows the case to enter the discovery phase, where further evidence may strengthen the hostages’ claims against the outlet for supporting their captor.

Image - Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv (Twitter Screenshot)