Facebook Removes Pages Glorifying Attacks on Israelis
The Fellowship | February 20, 2018
Terrorists have come to use modern technology – specifically social media – as an effective means to further incite hatred and violence, with many wondering how to combat this evil. Writing at The Times of Israel, the ever-insightful Khaled Abu Toameh says that while Facebook has removed pages that glorify terrorist attacks on Israelis, Palestinians are accusing the media outlet of “waging war” on them:
Palestinian activists and journalists on Monday launched a campaign to protest against Facebook after the social media giant removed dozens of pages in recent weeks, saying they incited and glorified terrorism.
“Facebook is waging war on the Palestinians,” the activists and journalists complained in a statement as they launched a Twitter hashtag entitled “#FBfightsPalestine” to protest the Facebook measures.
According to the Palestinians, the Facebook crackdown intensified after the killing of Ahmed Jarrar, the Hamas terrorist who was part of a cell that killed Rabbi Raziel Shevach in the northern West Bank last month.
Israeli security forces killed Jarrar in a shootout on February 6 in the village of al Yamoun, near Jenin.
Since then, the Palestinians said, Facebook has temporarily suspended or permanently removed more than 50 private and public pages and posts, most of which were dedicated to glorifying Jarrar. One of the deleted pages belonged to the Jarrar clan in Jenin.
During 2017, Facebook took action against 200 Palestinian accounts, the statement said. The measures also included the removal of posts and photos deemed inflammatory and supportive of terrorism.
Earlier this week, Facebook removed the Hamas-affiliated “Palestine.net” page, which had more than 180,000 likes…