Twitter Suspends Hamas Military Wing’s Account

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By Josefin Dolsten March 29, 2016

The Arabic Twitter account for Hamas’ military wing was closed down, two weeks after its English account was suspended.

The social media pages were used to disseminate news about the terrorist group’s military activities and to encourage attacks against Israeli civilians.

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said its Arabic Twitter account was closed without notice Monday night, blaming “pressure by Zionist groups,” according to the .

The account had over 140,000 followers, according to a statement on the group’s website.

The organization urged supporters to follow its alternate Twitter accounts.

Twitter shut down several accounts associated with Hamas’ military wing in 2014. The social media site has been targeting terrorist groups in recent years using its platform, but has faced criticism due to its failure to prevent those organizations from creating new accounts.

William Daroff, senior vice president for public policy at the Jewish Federations of North America, wrote “It’s about time!,” on his Twitter page, in response to the news of the account’s suspension.

It’s about time! RT @TimesofIsrael #Hamas military wing’s Twitter account shut down https://t.co/02ytWHl5Qk @DovLieber with inside story

— William Daroff (@Daroff) March 29, 2016

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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