by WorldTribune Staff, August 15, 2016

The shutting down of its senior leaders’ Facebook pages is an act of Israeli terrorism, Hamas charged.

Hamas officials complained that, in the midst of the Gazan election season, Facebook closed the account of one of the terror group’s top leaders, Ismail Radwan, as well as the accounts of Sami Abu Zuhri, Fawzi Barhoum and Salah Bardawil.

The social media accounts of Hams leaders have been regularly used to incite acts of terrorism against Jews in Israel.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassim told Ma’an news agency that the closures are an act of “Israeli internet terror,” despite no known connection between Israel and Facebook’s managers, Israel’s Arutz Sheva reported.

“The occupation fears the revelation of its scandalous crimes at the expense of the Palestinian people through posts on social media,” Qassim said.

Last week, Facebook closed the account of Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh. Throughout July, Facebook closed the accounts of the Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Politburo Musa Abu Marzouk, Khaled Meshaal confidante Ezzat al-Rishq, and a number of Hamas student leaders.

The closures come after New York-based legal advocacy organization Shurat HaDin in late 2015 sued Facebook for publishing incitement to terror, as well as for discriminating between Israeli and Palestinian pages. Facebook finally complied in July.

In January, Facebook had insisted that it “does not tolerate hate speech, including against people on the basis of their nationality. We review all reports and take down such content.”

  Hamas calls closing of leaders’ Facebook accounts an act of Israeli terrorism, Hazem Qassim, Ismail Radwan, WorldTribune.com