JERUSALEM: A prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a US judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza’s economy with terrorism.
Bashar Masri, who built luxury hotels in Gaza and the Palestinians’ first planned city in the West Bank, was sued last year by US families of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks who alleged his Gaza properties concealed tunnels the militant group used to stage its assault.
Before Israel’s war in Gaza, Hamas built a labyrinth tunnel network that stretched across nearly all of Gaza. Businesses often grappled with whether and how to invest in a territory ruled by a group deemed a terrorist organisation by the US and whose tacit approval was needed for large development projects.
Blue Beach Resort - and the Gaza Industrial Estate located on the border with Israel. All suffered major damage during the war, during which Israeli bombardment reduced much of Gaza to ruins.
