An Israeli hostage who was held captive by Hamas for nearly 250 days is filing a lawsuit against a US nonprofit with financial ties to the Hamas operative who reportedly kept him prisoner.
Exclusive: Rescued Israeli Hostage Almog Meir Jan is filing a lawsuit Tuesday against a U.S. nonprofit with financial ties to the Hamas operative who reportedly kept him prisoner.
Twenty-two-year-old Almog Meir Jan was held captive by Hamas for nearly 250 days following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and was found in the home of Abdallah Aljamal, a contributor to the website The Palestine Chronicle who also worked as a spokesman for the Hamas-run labor ministry in Gaza. Aljamal was killed during the IDF's rescue mission.
Rescued Israeli Hostage Sues US Nonprofit Linked to Hamas Operative
The Palestine Chronicle is run by the tax-exempt group, the People Media Project.
Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were also held captive at his family’s home in Nuseirat, Gaza, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Rescued Israeli Hostage Sues US Nonprofit Linked to Hamas Operative
The lawsuit, which will be filed Tuesday in Washington state's western district court, alleges that the defendants "knowingly and willfully procured and disseminated Hamas propaganda to the Palestine Chronicle’s readers in the United States," citing reports alleging "at least six Palestine Chronicle writers and contributors have been affiliated with Iranian propaganda outlets."
It also links Baroud with Aljamal by citing an opinion piece they co-authored in 2019 for Al Jazeera.
Rescued Israeli Hostage Sues US Nonprofit Linked to Hamas Operative
"We filed this lawsuit against Palestine Chronicle and its directors because they knowingly supported a Hamas operative who held our client as a hostage in his home. We look forward to seeking justice from the federal court for our client," Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and counsel for Jan, told Fox News Digital.
Fellow counsel Jason Torchinsky added, "Palestine Chronicle needs to be held accountable for its support of the Hamas operative who held our client hostage in Gaza. We filed this suit to seek relief for our client and to help expose the network of Hamas-linked PR fronts operating within the United States."
Rescued Israeli Hostage Sues US Nonprofit Linked to Hamas Operative
The Palestine Chronicle did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Last month, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Biden administration to revoke the People Media Project's tax-exempt status following Jan's rescue.
"Obviously, it's disturbing, but to find out that a journalist, quote unquote, was engaged in the holding of hostages, is deeply troubling. And that's why myself and my colleagues have called for the 501(c)(3) status, to be revoked, and to make sure that we certainly, as the United States, government and U.S. taxpayers are not giving benefits, in any way, to entities or organizations affiliated with terrorism," Lawler told Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
