Netanyahu, Arabs exchange Facebook insults

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu faced a barrage of diatribes against him on his recently launched Arabic Facebook page, as Arab commentators arranged a "warm" welcome for him, full of curses and insults. Netanyahu replied by saying: "I read with great interest your comments on the wall, and it seems a lot of surfers do not know how to hold dialogue or talk. These insults indicate backwardness, racism and hatred...I pity those who still live in days of ignorance, in every part of the word." The majority of the responses of visitors with Arabic names said Netanyahu was a "murderer" and "war criminal", his hands "stained with the blood of Palestinians and Muslims". They also said that the "Arab spring is coming to him", and that "Muslim youngsters will liberate Palestine." News of Netanyahu's page spread quickly and the number of fans reached about 9,700 users. Israeli interest to digitally communicate with the Arabs has increased, particularly after the "Arab Spring" revolutions in which Arab youth used modern means of communication and social networking to achieve their goals. Israeli communication efforts were reflected in the launch of Arabic media recently, while the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) launched an Arabic version of its website after its spokesman Avichai Adraee launched his Arabic page in Facebook and Twitter.