Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has begun sending out messages in Arabic on social media Twitter, in a bid to strengthen dialogue with the Arab world.
According to Al Arabiya, Netanyahu’s new account, launched earlier this month, has attracted new followers mainly from Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon, and his first posts have set out to relay direct messages to them.
“The aim of this account is to deepen the dialogue with you,” one of the account’s first messages, or tweets, read on Dec. 14. “Greetings from the holy city of Jerusalem,” read another.
More recently, Netanyahu tweeted Israel’s position on the nearby Syrian conflict.
“We will take the necessary steps to prepare for the likelihood of significant changes in the Syrian regime and repercussions resulting from the weapons located there,” a post in Netanyahu’s account read earlier this week.
“We follow developments in Syria and the dramatic events that happen nearly every day,” another post read.
The Arabic-tinted move into social media would allow Netanyahu’s office “[to strengthen] dialogue with Arab media and public opinion,” the PM’s Arab media spokesman, Ofir Gendelman was quoted by local media as saying.