'You guys will be kicked out soon': Netanyahu's son calls on Israel to expel British diplomats
The son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UK diplomats to be "kicked out" of Israel after the British Consulate in Jerusalem referred to the Palestinian territories as occupied.
Yair Netanyahu, who is known for his outbursts on social media, made the comments late on Friday after the British consulate announced that Prince Charles would be making his first visit to the area in January.
"God willing you guys will be kicked out of Israel soon," the 28-year-old son of the embattled Israeli premier tweeted in response.
"Until then I'm thinking of visiting the occupied lands of Scotland or Wales, which do you recommend?" he added.
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Other social media users were quick to point out that all UK citizens, whether Scottish, Welsh, or English, shared the same rights - unlike Palestinians in the occupied territories who are subjected to a separate legal and military administrative system from Israeli citizens.
Netanyahu then tried to justify his comments by saying that the British consulate in Jerusalem "pretends to be the embassy to the non-existing country of 'Palestine'".
He went on to complain that "Northern Ireland is recognised as part of Britain by the entire world" and "nobody disputes Britain sovereignty there and claims it belong to the Republic of Ireland".
Twitter outbursts
Yair's latest Twitter outburst follows a series of explosive comments on social media.
Last year he said that "there is no such thing" as Palestine because the letter "P" does not appear in the Arabic alphabet.
His theory quickly attracted ridicule on social media, as users noted that the Arabic word for Palestine is "Falasteen".
In 1948, when the state of Israel was established, Israel seized approximately 78 percent of historical Palestine and expelled some 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland.
Since it captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the wake of the 1967 war, Israel has proceeded with building settlements and transferring its Jewish citizens there, in violation of international law.
Today, at least 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements scattered across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Although the US administration announced last month that it did not consider Israeli settlements to violate international law - aligning itself with Israeli policy - the rest of the international community recognises Israel's control of East Jerusalem, the West Bank as a military occupation.
Yair has also stoked diplomatic strife between Israel and Turkey when he published an image on Instagram last year reading "Fuck Turkey".
His father, who has been in power since 2009, is Israel's longest-serving prime minister and dominates the country's political scene.
Despite being charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, he has secured the support of his party, Likud, ahead of Israel's third election in 12 months.
The allegations against Netanyahu range from receiving gifts worth thousands of dollars to brokering a deal to change regulatory frameworks in favour of a media group in exchange for positive press coverage.
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