JERUSALEM — Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence, their lawyers said Monday.

Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of the five families in New York federal court late Sunday, alleging that Facebook is violating U.S. anti-terrorism laws by providing a service to militant groups that assists them in “recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks.”

The lawsuit focuses on the Islamic militant group Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and which has fought three wars against Israel since the Palestinian group overran the coastal territory in 2007. Hamas, an armed group sworn to Israel’s destruction, has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

The five families in the lawsuit lost relatives in attacks over the last two years. Four were dual Israeli-American citizens while one victim was an American tourist.

“Facebook can’t sit in its stone tower in Palo Alto while blood is being spilled here on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It has a social responsibility. It can’t serve as a social network for Hamas,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the Israeli lawyer who is representing the families.

The suit comes amid a 10-month outburst of Israeli-Palestinian violence that has seen scores of Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli civilians and troops.

Israel says the violence is being fueled by a Palestinian campaign of incitement on social media while the Palestinians see it as the result of frustrations over nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation and a lack of hope for their own state.

Since mid-September, 34 Israelis and two American tourists have been killed in Palestinian attacks. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed during the same time.

Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is the family of Taylor Force, a 28-year-old U.S. veteran who was visiting Israel in March when he was stabbed to death by a Palestinian. Other plaintiffs include the family of Richard Lakin, an educator and coexistence advocate who was shot on a Jerusalem bus last October.

Lakin’s son, Micah Lakin Avni, said the goal of the lawsuit was to get Facebook and other social media companies to “take responsibility” for the content floating around their sites.

Facebook had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, saying it had not yet received a copy. But in a statement, it said people need to “feel safe” when using Facebook.

“There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on Facebook,” it said. “We have a set of Community Standards to help people understand what is allowed on Facebook, and we urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates our standards so we can investigate and take swift action.”

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