The Israeli defence minister’s Twitter account was briefly compromised on Friday, when a Palestinian flag as well as pro-Turkish and Palestinian posts were published on Naftali Bennet's feed.
The tweets, which contained a post that read “freedom for Palestine” and words from the Turkish anthem, were scrapped shortly after followers reported the developments to the social media platform.
According to the report of The Times of Israel newspaper published in Israel, Israel's Defense Minister Naftali Bennett's Twitter account was hacked and the flag of Turkey Mehmet Akif Ersoy with reference to the National Anthem's words were shared. pic.twitter.com/Q6vZ6xzePU
— Alectrolodon (@alectrolodon) March 7, 2020
Haaretz cited blogger and journalist Ido Kenan as saying that the hackers’ access to Bennet's Twitter page allegedly lasted at least seven minutes, which helped them post pro-Palestinian statements there.
Israel Defence Minister Naftali Bennett's Twitter account hacked and this message shared :) pic.twitter.com/xIxV8p19e6
— Mustafa Deveci (@Mustafa_DVC) March 7, 2020
This, however, runs counter to Bennett's office, which claimed in a statement on Saturday that the intruders had access to his account for just a few seconds.
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan
The intrusion comes amid ongoing tensions between Tel Aviv and the Palestinians which persist as US President Donald Trump announced in late February the long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The proposal stipulates a two-state solution, including the recognition of Israeli claims to settler areas in the West Bank, the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and providing a few neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem for a Palestinian capital. It also offers the Palestinian side $50 billion in infrastructure and investment assistance.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the plan outright, saying that Jerusalem was “not for sale” and that the deal would be thrown into the “garbage can of history” by the Palestinians.
