Families of US citizens killed in attacks sue Facebook

Families of five people, four with dual Israeli-American citizenship and an American, have filed a $1bn lawsuit against Facebook, accusing it of providing a platform for Palestinian incitement, Quds Press reported on Monday.

The Israeli legal advocacy group Shurat Hadin filed the complaint on behalf of the families of the victims in an American court in New York late on Sunday.

According to the report aired by the Israel’s Channel 2, the families of the five people, who were killed between June 2014 and March 2016, accuse Facebook of violating the US anti-terrorism act approved in 1992.

The families claim that Facebook assisted Palestinians in “recruiting, radicalising, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks”.

Under heavy Israeli pressure, Facebook has recently shutdown several accounts of Palestinians after complaints regarding claims they were inciting violence against Israel.

The Israeli justice ministry in cooperation with the Israeli police, intelligence services, the army and the foreign ministry announced the formation of an Israeli commission to monitor social media and close accounts and pages that incite violence against Israel and glorify Palestinian resistance.