Israeli PM may sue for April Fool joke on Facebook
Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: AAP
Newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted poorly to an April Fool’s Day joke on Facebook.
A fake social media profile purporting to be that of Mr Netanyahu told the world he had appointed a Palestinian as his new education minister, Jerusalem Online has reported.
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“[W]hether we like it or not, Arabs and Jews were destined to live side by side in this land together and I was elected to be the prime minister of everyone,” the fake post read.
Many right-wing Israelis and pro-Palestinians were tricked by the hoax, prompting both outrage and celebration.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister told the Jerusalem Post the party was considering court action for the “forgery and impersonations”.
“Likud legal adviser Avi Halevy will mull legal action in order to prevent and address instances of forgery and impersonations of the prime minister on the Internet in general and Facebook in particular,” the spokesman said.
During the recent election campaign, Mr Netanyahu said he would never accept a two-state solution with Palestine, but has since apologised.