Twitter has suspended two accounts linked with Palestinian political group Hamas, which is known for its rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas took to its Al-Qassam website to vent its frustration at the suspension, while Israel’s military posted an explanation on its own Twitter account.
Hamas commented, “The suspension of al-Qassam account by Twitter exposes the ‘unprofessional’ policy of the latest, and the total ‘bias’ to the Israeli occupation and real terrorism in the world. Moreover, Twitter seems subordinated to the American-pro-Israel organizations supporting terror against Palestinian people.”
While the social networking site didn’t offer a specific reason for suspending the Hamas accounts, the Israel Defense Force used its Twitter account to offer an explanation.
#Twitter has suspended the official account of #Hamas, a terrorist group that uses social media to threaten #Israel https://t.co/g1UxKc9fpf
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) January 14, 2014
Twitter’s policy on abusive behavior explains that “Users may not make direct, specific threats of violence against others.” Twitter’s terms of service also ban the platform’s use tor “a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction.”
That applies to Hamas, since the group has appeared on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations since 1997. Meanwhile, Hamas called Twitter’s decision to suspend its accounts “an act or terrorism and unacceptable.” It added, “We have the right to defend our people, land, and legal armed resistance.”
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