Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eulogizes the three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the occupied West Bank during joint funerals in the Israeli city of Modi'in on July 1, 2014. The family of one, Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel, joined other families this week in suing facebook in U.S. Federal Court for $1 billion, saying the social network platform knowingly aided the terrorist organization Hamas. Photo by Baz Ratner/Pool/UPI |
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NEW YORK, July 11 (UPI) -- The families of victims of Hamas sued Facebook for $1 billion, saying the company allowed Hamas to use the social media outlet to plan attacks.
The lawsuit, filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in New York, alleges Facebook "knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas, a notorious terrorist organization that has engaged in and continues to commit terror attacks, including the terrorist attacks that killed 29-year-old Taylor Force, 16-year-old Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel, 3-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun, and 76-year-old Richard Lakin, and injured Menachem Mendel Rivkin, and the families of these terror victims."
The five attacks occurred in 2014 in Israel, West Bank and Jerusalem. Each of the victims was a U.S. national.
It states Hamas has regularly used Facebook services for recruitment, communications among members and to plan and carry out attacks.
"Despite receiving numerous complaints and widespread media and other attention for providing its online social media platform and communications services to Hamas, Facebook has continued to provide these resources and services to Hamas."
The suit said Hamas used Facebook to share plans with members, posting information about demonstrations, road closures, Israeli military maneuvers and instructions to carry out attacks.
It was brought to the court under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows U.S. victims of foreign terrorist attacks to sue for damages.
In October 2015, a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, in the same court and with 20,000 plaintiffs, sought an injunction requiring the company to remove content promoting anti-Israeli violence and to actively monitor its site for inflammatory content. A verdict has not yet been handed down.
The Israeli government is promoting legislation allowing the government to obtain a court order demanding Facebook remove certain content, based on police suggestions. Another proposed bill would fine Facebook $77,000 for every post that includes incitement to violence which is not immediately removed. Public Security Minister Gilad Edran recently said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had the blood of Hallel Ariel, 13, killed in a June stabbing attack, on his hands.
2016 Facebook lawsuit
