Sixteen Republican members of the House of Representatives have called on Twitter to ban all accounts linked to groups designated by the US as terrorist organisations — including Hamas.
A joint letter shared by New York congressman Lee Zeldin said the group, which has controlled the Gaza Strip for over a decade, was active on the social media site and its leaders used it to recruit members.
“Every year, Hamas uses Twitter to gather mass participation for its ‘Days of Rage’ against Israel. Hamas, and other terrorist organizations use Twitter to recruit members, and praise martyrs that kill innocent Americans and Israelis,” the letter said.
“Hamas is recognized as a designated terrorist organization by not only the United States, but the European Union and Canada as well.
“That is why we also urge you to ban senior Hamas officials and associates from Twitter who radicalize individuals to incite violence against Israelis.”
The congressional letter added that it hoped Twitter would take action without the need for “additional Congressional oversight and legislative action”.
Hamas, which was put on the US list of terrorist organisations in 1997, organises regular protests on the Gaza border with Israel.
Israeli authorities also hold the group responsible for frequent rocket launches towards villages and kibbutzim in southern Israel.
Four people were killed on the Israeli side of the border after 650 rockets were launched over two days last month. 23 Palestinians died in subsequent IDF air strikes on targets within Gaza.
Twitter did not immediately return the JC’s request for comment.