Harvard dean's council member resigns from post after lawsuit claims he 'aided and abetted' Hamas

A subordinate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Dean's Council has resigned from his presumption aft helium was sued past week by astir 200 household members of Americans killed successful Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 panic onslaught connected Israeli concert-goers. 

According to the lawsuit, Bashar Masri, a Palestinian American billionaire, is accused of "aiding and abetting" Hamas by helping the panic radical physique tunnels and rocket motorboat sites, arsenic good arsenic allowing apical Hamas leaders to usage his facilities astatine his properties successful Gaza.

Masri resigned from his Harvard station successful the aftermath of the allegations. The Kennedy School of Government confirmed his resignation successful an email to Fox News Digital connected Thursday.

TRUMP ADMIN SETS TERMS FOR HARVARD TO ADDRESS ANTISEMITISM TO AVOID LOSING BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER DOLLARS

Harvard module and unit clasp signs from wrong Harvard Yard during a property league by module supporters of the Harvard Out of Palestine conjugation extracurricular Harvard Yard. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

"Following conversations with the Kennedy School of Government, Bashar Masri has stepped down from his relation connected the Dean's Council, portion helium seeks the dismissal of the mendacious allegations made against him," Masri's bureau told Fox News Digital.

"Neither helium nor immoderate businesses associated with him person ever engaged successful unlawful enactment oregon provided enactment for unit and militancy," the connection said. "Bashar Masri has been progressive successful improvement and humanitarian enactment for decades. His continued efforts to beforehand determination bid and stableness person been wide recognized by the United States and each concerns parties successful the region. He unequivocally opposes unit of immoderate kind."

The suit paints a antithetic picture.

TRUMP COLLEGE CRACKDOWN: LIST OF STUDENTS DETAINED AMID ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUSES

Bashar al-Masri, president of Palestine Development and Investment Company Ltd., speaks during the motorboat ceremonial of a ample star vigor task successful eastbound Gaza City connected March 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Rizek Abdeljawad via Getty Images)

"Masri and the companies helium controls—including Defendants Palestine Development & Investment Company ("PADICO"), Palestine Real Estate Investment Company ("PRICO"), and Palestinian Industrial Estate Development Company ("PIEDCO")—developed and operated premier properties successful Gaza for outwardly morganatic purposes," the lawsuit, filed successful the United States District Court for the District of Columbia connected April 7, reads.

READ THE LAWSUIT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

"But successful reality, they were besides utilized to conception and conceal Hamas’s onslaught tunnels, store and motorboat its rockets astatine Israel, big Hamas enactment and ft soldiers, bid Hamas naval commandos—and adjacent to nutrient energy for Hamas's onslaught passageway infrastructure," according to the suit. "Just anterior to the October 7 Attack, Masri adjacent installed an idiosyncratic intimately tied to Hamas arsenic Chairman of PIEDCO." 

That person was identified successful the suit arsenic Yahya Sinwar, caput of Hamas successful the Gaza Strip of Hamas successful the Gaza Strip opening successful 2017, whom the suit alleges utilized Masri's luxury seaside hotels "to big nationalist and backstage Hamas events." The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) killed Sinwar past October. 

HARVARD WENT EASY ON STUDENTS FOR ANTISEMITIC CONDUCT, HOUSE COMMITTEE FINDS

Palestinian businessman Bashar Masri stands among attendees during the lawsuit successful Qasr ar Rawabi, Palestine, connected April 5, 2025. (Mohammad Nazal/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty)

Masri is the antheral down the $350 cardinal Rawabi project, an effort to make the archetypal modern concern country successful the West Bank. The suit alleges that that task was mostly funded by a Qatari state-owned existent property concern firm. 

"In 2018 helium established and presently funds the postgraduate Rawabi Fellowship for Leaders from Palestine astatine the Harvard University Kennedy School. This fellowship programme provides tuition, wellness insurance, and stipends for Palestinian postgraduate students astatine Harvard," the suit says. 

The Gaza Industrial Estate (GIE), is described arsenic the "crown jewel" of Masri's developments, which the suit says was financed done Masri's companies with wealth from USAID, the United Nations, the European Union, and much recently, the International Finance Company (IFC) successful Washington. 

"In processing the GIE, Masri and the different Defendants worked directly, openly, and knowingly with elder Hamas leaders, including, successful the months earlier the October 7 Attack, the Hamas authoritative successful complaint of the improvement of Hamas’s military-industrial basal successful Gaza," the suit says.

A presumption of the encampment successful Harvard yard. The "Liberated Zone" had respective signs decrying genocide and calling for divestment from Israel. (Nikolas Lanum/Fox News Digital)

According to the lawsuit, portion GIE appeared to beryllium a wholly morganatic institution that manufactured products to conscionable the needs of mean people, it was precise intimately tied to Hamas terror, saying that "…Masri and the companies helium controls worked with Hamas to conception and conceal an elaborate subterranean onslaught passageway web which Hamas utilized to burrow nether the borderline into Israel, to onslaught adjacent Israeli communities, and to ambush Israeli subject personnel."

The suit claims that GIE was utilized to "probe the borderline obstruction and trial the IDF’s effect times and countermeasures successful the pb up to the October 7 Attack," and that "Hamas adjacent installed an anti-tank artillery successful 1 of the GIE’s h2o towers facing the border."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Masri's bureau called the ailment "baseless."

"He was shocked to larn done the media that a baseless ailment was filed contiguous referring to mendacious allegations against him and definite businesses helium is associated with," his bureau told Fox News Digital. "Neither helium nor those entities person ever engaged successful unlawful enactment oregon provided enactment for unit and militancy."