“Facebook has played an essential role in Hamas’s ability to carry out its terrorist activities”, the lawsuit claims.
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The families of five American citizens injured or killed in attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media giant is liable for providing a platform for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
The plaintiffs, relatives of four Israeli-U.S. dual nationals and one visiting U.S. citizen who died in attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or the occupied West Bank between 2014 and 2016, accused Facebook of helping Hamas militants operate. The plaintiffs’ Israeli lawyer, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said they had expert assessments linking Hamas to the other attacks.
“The real test for the owners of Facebook is to reject this (Israeli) pressure”, Abu Zuhri said.
Facebook did not comment on the lawsuit when asked by several news outlets. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is preparing a bill meant to rein in content seen as incitement on social media and earlier this month, he said Facebook had become “a monster”, adding that the company had “some of the victims’ blood” on its hands.
Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas leader, said by phone that “suing Facebook clearly shows the American policy of fighting freedom of the press and expression” and is evidence of United States of America prejudice against the group and “its just cause”.
The plaintiffs sought an injunction against Facebook requiring the social network to remove any content that promotes violence against Israelis, and to actively to monitor its website for inciting content. The suit alleged that Facebook has a “legal and moral obligation” to block much of this content but that it chooses not to.
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That suit, filed in June by the father of the late 23-year-old Nohemi Gonzalez, accuses Facebook, along with Google and Twitter, of “knowingly permitt[ing] the terrorist group ISIS to use their social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits”.
