Published 16:23 IST, September 13th 2019
Facebook suspends Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's page for hate speech
Facebook has suspended the official page of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 12, after he violated the company's hate speech policy
Facebook has suspended the official page of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 12, after he violated the company's hate speech policy by sending visitors a message warning them of Arabs who want to "destroy" them all. Facebook announced on Thursday, that the social network had suspended the automated chat function for 24 hours. Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting a close battle with the Opposition for the upcoming elections, due on September 17, and has appealed to far-right religious and nationalist voters who fear the political influence of Palestinian citizens in Israel. Facebook released a statement and said they have found a violation of their hate speech policy when they carefully reviewed the activities of the Likud campaign led by the Prime Minister. Facebook also clarified that they will take appropriate actions if they come across any such additional violations. The page urged voters to prevent the establishment of a government composed of Arabs who wants to destroy all the women, children and men that sparked uproar and protests by the opposition parties and leaders.
PM Netanyahu denies writing the post
The chat window displays Netanyahu's name and picture but the text identifies a volunteer as having sent the message. In an interview conducted with the domestic Kan Reshet Bet radio, Netanyahu denied he wrote the post and said it was a mistake made by an employee. Arab Israelis account for one-fifth of the population. There are Palestinian families who remained in their villages and towns after the war which created Israel in 1948. Thousands of people fled to the Arab nations and some were expelled by the forces. The remaining ones soon became the citizens of Israel and urged the government to establish a separate state next to Israel to be named Palestine. Netanyahu targetted the Arab Israelis for a long time in order to appease his vote bank.
Big Promises made by PM
PM Netanyahu has made big promises and more concessions when the election was called off after he failed to form the government in May. He announced he will build large swathes of the occupied Palestinian territories if he comes to power. Last week he pushed a bill which would allow party officials to bring cameras into the polling booths. Critics said it was a clear attempt to intimidate the Arab Israeli voters as many voters won't appreciate their political preference being identified. Netanyahu's party was also blacklisted for smuggling cameras into the Arab polling center in April. PM Netanyahu said he was only interested in preventing voter fraudulence. As a result, the bill failed to pass through Israel's Parliament, Knesset as it was opposed by the majority of the politicians.
Updated 17:33 IST, September 13th 2019