Facebook suspended a chatbot that operated for a page of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for a post warning that Israel's Arab politicians "want to destroy" the Jewish state.

Sent by the bot, the message was aimed at rallying support for Netanyahu's conservative Likud party ahead of next week's general election, and it went out under the name of a campaign volunteer.

It urged supporters to turn out and vote to ward off "a dangerous left-wing government," saying that it would draw on the backing of Israeli Arab politicians "who want to destroy us all — women, children and men — and enable a nuclear Iran that would wipe us out."

Netanyahu denied writing the post and cast the blame on a campaign staffer.

Facebook said in a statement that "a careful review found a violation of our hate speech policy."

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Facebook suspended a chatbot that operated on behalf of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for a post warning that Israel's Arab politicians "want to destroy" the Jewish state.

Sent by the bot, the message was aimed at rallying support for Netanyahu's conservative Likud party ahead of next week's general election, and it went out under the name of a campaign volunteer.

It urged supporters to turn out and vote to ward off "a dangerous left-wing government," saying that it would draw on the backing of Israeli Arab politicians "who want to destroy us all — women, children and men — and enable a nuclear Iran that would wipe us out."

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The bot's ban will last only 24 hours. Facebook said in a statement that "a careful review found a violation of our hate speech policy." The Israeli prime minister's Facebook page was not affected.

Netanyahu pinned blame on a campaign staffer, and said he didn't write it in a radio interview, according to the New York Times.

"This mistake was immediately fixed — I didn't write it," Netanyahu said. "Do you think I really would write such a thing and then deny it? I'm a serious person. Not everything on my campaign page is edited by me."

Netanyahu has recently relied on hardline rhetoric to muster additional support before Israelis head to the polls, which is expected to be a close race. On Tuesday, Netanyahu promised to annex the Jordan Valley, which is part of the occupied West Bank, the Independent reported.