Huge lawsuit against the social network Facebook: Families of terror victims filed a lawsuit in a US court today (Monday) against Facebook, claiming that the social network allowed Hamas leaders to encourage terrorism. The lawsuit was filed through the organization Shurat Al-Din, which is represented by attorneys Nitzana Darshan-Leitner of Tel Aviv and Robert Tulchin of New York.
The families are demanding over a billion dollars in compensation from the company, in accordance with the War on Terrorism Act, enacted in 1992, which prohibits American businesses from assisting in any material supply, including services, intended for terrorist organizations and their leaders.
According to the lawsuit, Facebook knowingly provides its social media services, with all its benefits, to the terrorist organization Hamas, thereby violating US anti-terrorism law.
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The lawsuit, filed in the federal district court of the Southern District of New York, seeks damages and punitive damages for the American victims of five attacks that occurred between June 2014 and March 2016. All of these attacks were carried out by Hamas terrorists, which is recognized in Western countries as a terrorist organization.
The attacks listed in the indictment:
• The kidnapping and murder of three boys in Gush Etzion on June 12, 2014, including a 16-year-old US citizen, Yaakov Naftali Frankel.
• A car bombing at the Jerusalem light rail station on October 22, 2014, in which a US citizen baby girl, Chaya Zissel Brown, was murdered.
• A stabbing and shooting attack on Egged bus line 78 in Jerusalem, on October 13, 2015, in which three civilians were murdered, including US citizen Richard Lakin, 76.
• A stabbing attack in Givat Ze'ev, on January 27, 2016, in which an attempted murder of US citizen Menachem Mendel Rivkin was carried out.
• The attack on the promenade near Jaffa on March 8, 2016, during which an American civilian and soldier, the late Taylor Fores, 29, was murdered. Fores was in Israel as part of a university-sponsored trip. Ten other people were injured in the attack.
Taylor's family is leading the lawsuit, which is named after Taylor's family members, Force v. Facebook, Inc.
""Facebook plays a critical role in enabling Hamas to carry out its terrorist activities. Hamas uses Facebook as a tool for its terrorist activities," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit further states that senior figures in the terrorist organization, including Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud a-Zahar, use Facebook accounts to spread hate messages.
Attorney Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of the Shurat Din organization: "This lawsuit should not surprise Facebook, which has knowingly provided and provides a social media platform to the Hamas organization, its leaders, and its affiliated organizations. It has been doing this for years and despite repeated complaints and warnings it has received.
""Facebook must be held accountable for its role in promoting Hamas' terrorist activities, including the attacks that injured and killed the victims in this lawsuit. Ismail Haniyeh is not allowed to open a US bank account, shop on Amazon, or use an American mobile device. Somehow, Facebook still believes that they can provide him and his fellow terrorists with social media services.".
