Facebook says it has sanctioned the page of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of a violation of the company�s hate speech policy.

Facebook said on Thursday that the social network had suspended for 24 hours the page�s bot, or automated chat function.

The page had called on voters to prevent the establishment of a government composed of �Arabs who want to destroy us all – women, children and men.� The post sparked uproar by opposition politicians.

Netanyahu denied he wrote the post in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet radio. He said it was a staffer�s mistake and the post was removed.

Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival ahead of elections next week and has been shoring up nationalist voters with feisty language and hard-line promises.

(AP)