Israel on Monday asked microblogging giant Twitter to "immediately suspend" the account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from its platform, citing posts repeatedly urging the annihilation of the Jewish state.
As recently as Friday, Khamenei went on a rant on social media, calling Israel a "cancerous regime" and saying that Israel must "be eliminated" over its "crimes against humanity" and against the Palestinians.
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In a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen called for the "immediate suspension" of Khamenei's account "over his consistent posting of anti-Semitic and genocidal posts," her ministry said in a statement.
"Examples of such include Khamenei calling for the 'elimination of the Zionist entity' while asserting that the 'Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous growth,' which must 'be uprooted and destroyed.' He also compared Israel to the deadly coronavirus, 'the Zionist regime is a reality that the region must come to terms with. Today the #Covid_19 is a reality; should it be accepted or fought?!… Zionism will be uprooted,'" the letter read.
4. The Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous growth and a detriment to this region. It will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed. Then, the shame will fall on those who put their facilities at the service of normalization of relations with this regime.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 22, 2020
Iranian leaders often call for Israel's destruction and have repeatedly threatened to "wipe it off the map." The Islamic republic also sponsors and arms terrorist groups that seek Israel's elimination, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.
Khamenei was panned last week for sharing a poster showing people celebrating at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem after apparently capturing it from Israel as a Palestinian flag is raised over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. "Palestine Will Be Free. The final solution: Resistance until referendum," the text on the poster says.
After Israeli and American leaders accused him of encouraging genocide Khamenei tweeted that he seeks Israel's destruction but not the annihilation of all Jews.
