By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A group of 25 US states has launched federal appeal against American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), urging the 4th Circuit to reinstate claims that the organizations aided Hamas in the lead-up to and during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack.

The filing supports survivors of the assault, relatives of those killed, and civilians still affected by Hamas’s ongoing violence.

Led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, the coalition submitted an amici curiae brief asserting that the case carries national importance and implicates the states’ sovereign interest in enforcing anti-terrorism laws.

The states back plaintiffs in Parizer et al. v. AJP Educational Foundation et al., who argue that several US-based entities violated the federal Anti-Terrorism Act by providing material support to Hamas.

The states’ filing challenges a decision by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, who dismissed the case at the motion-to-dismiss stage before any discovery occurred.

The plaintiffs are now appealing that ruling, and the attorneys general contend that early dismissal deprived the Anti-Terrorism Act of its intended force.

According to the brief, AMP and NSJP publicly aligned themselves with Hamas one day after the October 7 attack by declaring they were “part of a ‘Unity Intifada’ under Hamas’s ‘unified command.’”

The submission argues that such statements, combined with organizational links cited by the plaintiffs, warrant full judicial review rather than an early rejection of the claims.

The document describes AMP and NSJP as operating in the United States as communications and outreach extensions of a designated terrorist organization.

It highlights assertions that AMP was established by senior figures formerly involved with the Holy Land Foundation, a group tied to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The brief further notes that AMP subsequently created both its fiscal sponsor, AJP Educational Foundation, and its campus branch, NSJP.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, one of the amici, said Wednesday that “radical Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas must be decimated and dismantled, and that includes their domestic supporting branches.”

He added that “terrorism relies on complex networks and intermediaries, and the law must be enforced against those who knowingly provide material support.”

The coalition’s involvement follows Paxton’s previous defense of Texas’s designation of the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.