SAFA- Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent leader of the pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia University, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan against senior Trump administration officials, accusing them of conspiring with pro-Israel organizations to target him because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants include the conservative Heritage Foundation, several former senior Trump administration officials, and the organizations Canary Mission and Betar, both of which are known for monitoring and targeting pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. university campuses.

The lawsuit centers on the "Project Esther" initiative, a program developed by the Heritage Foundation after 7 October 2023. According to the complaint, the project called for portraying pro-Palestinian activists as supporters of Hamas and advocated the deportation of foreign students involved in campus protests.

The lawsuit said that Project Esther served as an operational framework, while Canary Mission and Betar gathered information on pro-Palestinian activists and identified individuals who were later targeted by US authorities. Khalil, who was detained for several months in 2025, is among those named in the complaint.

Khalil filed the lawsuit under a federal law enacted in 1871 to combat conspiracies by the Ku Klux Klan, which prohibits conspiracies intended to deprive individuals of their constitutional rights.

He is seeking financial compensation and a court ruling declaring that his arrest and attempted deportation resulted from coordinated actions between government officials and private organizations.

Legal experts say the case is likely to face significant legal challenges. However, if it survives the initial stage of litigation, it could require the defendants to disclose internal documents and communications related to the development and implementation of Project Esther.