Palestinian-American businessman Bashar Masri , who was advising the Donald Trump administration until recently, resigned from his post in the dean's council at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government after he was accused of directly helping the Hamas in building terror tunnels and rocket launch sites.
Some 200 American family members of the October 7 victims filed a lawsuit in DC federal court on Monday against Masri, accusing him of helping the Hamas with the attack. The lawsuit said Masri had worked with Hamas in developing business properties in Gaza that were used as a cover-up for the terrorist tunnels.
Masri has also provided advice and private plane travel to Adam Boehler, who was President Donald Trump’s nominee to be special presidential envoy for hostage affairs and a current special envoy at the US State Department, as he conducted unprecedented direct negotiations with Hamas in March, per Israeli media reports.
“Mr Masri has resigned from the Dean’s Council. The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process,” a spokesperson for the Kennedy School of Government said, New York Post reported.
Masri's work in the West Bank is not a secret as he drew widespread acclaim for developing the “futuristic” city of Rawabi in the West Bank and allegedly took millions of dollars US government funding for other projects in Gaza. But the lawsuit said his works also included terror infrastructure later uncovered by the IDF.
Who is Bashar Masri ?
Born in Nablus, a Palestinian city, Bashar Masri was educated in Egypt and the United States. He graduated from Virginia tech and became a US citizen. In the mid-1990s, he returned to Ramallah and founded several business ventures. As chairman of the Palestine Development & Investment Company, Masri was developing and operate hotels, an industrial park and other businesses in Gaza.
The businesses included Al Mashtal Hotel, which the Israel Defense Forces identified in 2014 as a Hamas rocket launch site.
“When the hotels get damaged by Israeli airstrikes or the Gaza Industrial Estate gets damaged, they not only don’t stop investing, they continue to rebuild infrastructure,” Gary Osen, one of the lead attorneys representing the families against Masri, said. “If someone didn’t want to be involved with Hamas or support them, they would presumably say, ‘Okay, well, they’re firing rockets from Al Mashtal hotel tunnels, maybe we should just exit that investment.’”
“But no, according to the complaint, they not only go back and refurbish, invest more money and more of other people’s money, but assist Hamas with its tunnels again,” Osen said. “Nothing changes.”
Some 200 American family members of the October 7 victims filed a lawsuit in DC federal court on Monday against Masri, accusing him of helping the Hamas with the attack. The lawsuit said Masri had worked with Hamas in developing business properties in Gaza that were used as a cover-up for the terrorist tunnels.
Masri has also provided advice and private plane travel to Adam Boehler, who was President Donald Trump’s nominee to be special presidential envoy for hostage affairs and a current special envoy at the US State Department, as he conducted unprecedented direct negotiations with Hamas in March, per Israeli media reports.
“Mr Masri has resigned from the Dean’s Council. The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process,” a spokesperson for the Kennedy School of Government said, New York Post reported.
Masri's work in the West Bank is not a secret as he drew widespread acclaim for developing the “futuristic” city of Rawabi in the West Bank and allegedly took millions of dollars US government funding for other projects in Gaza. But the lawsuit said his works also included terror infrastructure later uncovered by the IDF.
Who is Bashar Masri ?
Born in Nablus, a Palestinian city, Bashar Masri was educated in Egypt and the United States. He graduated from Virginia tech and became a US citizen. In the mid-1990s, he returned to Ramallah and founded several business ventures. As chairman of the Palestine Development & Investment Company, Masri was developing and operate hotels, an industrial park and other businesses in Gaza.
The businesses included Al Mashtal Hotel, which the Israel Defense Forces identified in 2014 as a Hamas rocket launch site.
“When the hotels get damaged by Israeli airstrikes or the Gaza Industrial Estate gets damaged, they not only don’t stop investing, they continue to rebuild infrastructure,” Gary Osen, one of the lead attorneys representing the families against Masri, said. “If someone didn’t want to be involved with Hamas or support them, they would presumably say, ‘Okay, well, they’re firing rockets from Al Mashtal hotel tunnels, maybe we should just exit that investment.’”
“But no, according to the complaint, they not only go back and refurbish, invest more money and more of other people’s money, but assist Hamas with its tunnels again,” Osen said. “Nothing changes.”
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