Benjamin Netanyahu's son suspended from Facebook for anti-Muslim comments

He said he would 'prefer' if 'all the Muslims leave the land of Israel'

FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2013, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, prays with his sons Yair Netanyahu, left, and Avner Netanyahu at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. Facebook has blocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair for 24 hours after he wrote a post criticizing the social media platform as "thought police" and sharing previously banned content. (AP Photo/Uriel Sinai, File)
Powered by automated translation

Facebook has banned the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 24 hours after he posted anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian messages.

Yair Netanyahu, 27, confirmed on Twitter that he had been banned from the rival social media platform for calling for there to be no Muslims in Israel. Arab Muslims make up around 20 per cent of Israel's population of 8 million.

"There will not be peace here until: 1. All the Jews leave the land of Israel. 2. All the Muslims leave the land of Israel. I prefer the second option," he wrote.

"Do you know where there are no terror attacks? In Iceland and Japan. Coincidentally there’s also no Muslim population there," he said in another post.

These posts were removed but he continued to post about Muslims and Palestinians.

After a shooting attack in the West Bank that left two soldiers dead, he posted for Israel to "avenge the deaths" of the soldiers. "There will never be peace with those monsters in the form of men that have called themselves 'Palestinians' since 1964," he wrote.

The younger Netanyahu has long been a public relations nightmare for his father, who is engulfed in several corruption cases. Earlier this year, recordings of him outside a strip club in Tel Aviv from two years prior showed him making derogatory remarks about women. The Israeli leader was forced to apologise on behalf of his son, saying he had made the comment "under the influence of alcohol and has since apologised for them".

Worse for Mr Netanyahu, his son appeared to point to corruption after he complained to his friend, the son of an energy millionaire, that he would not lend him a small sum of money despite his father, the Israeli Prime Minister, arranging "20 billion dollars for your father and you're crying over 400 shekels for me".

He has also previously called left-wing Israeli "traitors" on his Facebook page and has even posted a picture of George Soros with the suggestion that he was secretly in control of the world. Far-right Americans hailed the post against the Jewish businessman, prompting further criticism of Netanyahu's son.

______________

Read more

______________