Israeli group sues Facebook over Palestinian violence

The victims cited in the suit were all American.

Relatives of Israeli and American victims of Palestinian attacks have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Facebook, alleging the giant social network is letting Hamas use the service to spread violence. Hamas, an armed group sworn to Israel’s destruction, has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

“This lawsuit should be no surprise to Facebook, which has knowingly provided its social media platform and services to Hamas, its leaders, and affiliates for years, despite repeated complaints and warnings”, Israeli lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, representing the plaintiffs, said by email. “Hamas has used and relied on Facebook’s online social network platform and communications services as among its most important tools to facilitate and carry out its terrorist activity”.

Israel’s internal security minister Gilad Erdan recently said Facebook bore “some responsibility” for the wave of violence, and said he would advance legislation making it illegal to publish “offensive content” that encourages attacks.

On Sunday, the families of several terrorist victims sued Facebook under an American anti-terrorism law.

In March, an American graduate student and military veteran named Taylor Force was walking through the ancient Israeli port city of Jaffa when a knife-wielding Palestinian stabbed him to death and wounded 10 others.

There was no immediate comment from Facebook.

Hamas called the lawsuit an Israeli attempt to blackmail Facebook.

The only efficient way to deal with Palestinian “incitement” on Facebook is if the measures “come from Facebook itself”, she said. But in a statement, it said people need to “feel safe” when using Facebook.

Gabriel Weimann, an expert on terrorism on the internet at Haifa University, said technology would be more effective than litigation in discouraging the use of social media for violent purposes.

“Facebook isn’t the only platform”, he said.

Israel accuses militants in Gaza of rebuilding tunnels that could be used to attack it, with three wars having been fought between them since 2008.

The others are dual Israeli-US nationals who died in attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank between 2014 and 2016.

Shurat Hadin claims Facebook is violating the US Anti-Terrorism Act by allowing groups such as the Islamic militant Hamas to disseminate their messages on Facebook. Shurat HaDin explained, “We won’t stop here”. A similar case was brought against Twitter in January by the widow of a contractor killed in an attack on a police training center in Jordan.