Twitter closes accounts of Hamas, Hezbollah leaders

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Twitter has shut the accounts of dozens of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders at Israel’s request, according to Israel’s Homeland Security Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said that Homeland Security Minister Gilad Erdan had provided the popular social-networking site with the names of 40 individuals linked to Hamas or Hezbollah whose accounts Israel wanted to see closed.

Twitter responded by closing 35 of the accounts on the list, according to the same statement.

The list included the names of prominent Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Meshaal, Izzat al-Rishq, Hossam Badran, Salah al-Bardawil, Fathi Hammad, Fawzi Barhoum, Osama Hamdan, Sami Abu Zuhri, Taher al-Nono, Rawhi Mushtaha, Moussa Abu Marzouk and Hussein Abu Kwik, among others, the ministry said.

It also included the names of leading members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, including Naim Kassem and Salam al-Faham, among others.

Neither Hamas nor Hezbollah have yet commented on the ministry statement.