A "Third Intifada" page, which had acquired almost 200,000 "fans", was closed down on Tuesday just days after Israel contacted Facebook to complain over comments on it which it said called for "the killing of Israelis and Jews".
Israel asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to remove the page, created on March 6, that calls for a Plestinian intifada (terror war) beginning on May 15, the official date marking the anniversary of Israel’s independence.
The page included remarks and movie clips that called for the killing of Israelis and Jews and the "liberation" of Jerusalem and of Palestine through acts of violence, Israeli Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein said.
"As Facebook’s CEO and founder you are obviously aware of the site’s great potential to rally the masses around good causes, and we are all thankful for that," Edelstein said. "However, such potential comes hand in hand with the ability to cause great harm such as in the case of the wild incitement displayed on the above-mentioned page."In a statement released to several media outlets, Facebook made the following comments: "While some kinds of comments and content may be upsetting for someone — criticism of a certain culture, country, religion, lifestyle, or political ideology, for example — that alone is not a reason to remove the discussion."
"We strongly believe that Facebook users have the ability to express their opinions, and we don’t typically take down content, groups or Pages that speak out against countries, religions, political entities, or ideas."
Social media and other online information sources have taken center stage in uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya, with participants using Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to spread news and coordinate protests.