JERUSALEM - Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk lent support on Nov 27 to Israel’s campaign against Hamas, saying one challenge was stopping propaganda of a sort that led to the Palestinian faction’s killing spree that triggered the Gaza war.

The owner of the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Musk was on an unusual visit to Israel, during a four-day pause to the fighting, and held a live online discussion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hearing Mr Netanyahu describe the destruction of Hamas, which Israel has set as a war goal, as necessary for any prospective peace with the Palestinians, Mr Musk sounded his general agreement for such objectives during an X Spaces discussion.

“There’s no choice,” said Mr Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, adding: “I’d like to help as well.”

“Those that are intent on murder must be neutralised,” he said. “The propaganda must stop that is training people to be murderers in the future. And then, making Gaza prosperous. And if that happens, I think it will be a good future.”

Mr Netanyahu replied: “I hope you will be involved. And the fact that you came here, I think, speaks volumes to your commitment to try to secure a better future.”

Mr Musk has himself been accused of incitement after agreeing on Nov 15 with a post that falsely claimed Jews were stoking hatred against white people.

Mr Netanyahu showed Mr Musk some footage of the Oct 7 attack assembled from Hamas bodycams, CCTV and other sources.

When they last met in California on Sept 18, Mr Netanyahu urged Mr Musk to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over anti-Semitism on X – the former Twitter.

In October, as the war raged following a Hamas killing and kidnapping spree in southern Israel, Mr Musk proposed using Starlink to support communication links in the blackout-hit Gaza enclave with “internationally recognised aid organisations”.

At the time, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi objected, saying “Hamas will use it (Starlink) for terrorist activities”.

But in a new tack, Mr Karhi said on Nov 27 that Israel and Mr Musk had reached an agreement in principle whereby “Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip”.

In an X post addressed to Mr Musk, Mr Karhi said he hoped the visit to Israel “will serve as a springboard for future endeavours, as well as enhance your relationship with the Jewish people and values we share with the entire world”.

Mr Musk has said he is against anti-Semitism and anything that “promotes hate and conflict” – including on X.

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have risen worldwide, including during the seven-week-old Gaza war. Israel and Hamas are now in a temporary truce, with some Gaza hostages and Palestinians held by Israel for security offences going free.

On Nov 15, Mr Musk agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user who referenced the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory was speaking “the actual truth”.

The White House condemned what it called an “abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate” that “runs against our core values as Americans”.

Major United States companies including Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and NBCUniversal parent Comcast paused their advertisements on his social media site.

The “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory holds that Jewish people and leftists are engineering the ethnic and cultural replacement of white populations with non-white immigrants that will lead to a “white genocide”.

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, anti-Semitic incidents in the US rose by nearly 400 per cent from the year-earlier period, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a non-profit organisation that fights anti-Semitism.

Mr Musk has said X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling the approach “freedom of speech, not reach”. REUTERS