ISTANBUL: President Tayyip Erdogan fiercely criticised social media companies on Monday, saying they sought to “muzzle the Palestinian people’s voices”, after Turkey blocked access to Instagram last week.

Turkey was holding talks with Instagram on Monday after the move, which followed a top Turkish official’s accusation that the social media site blocked condolence posts over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian group Hamas.

Turkey has denounced Israel’s attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire, and criticised what it calls unconditional support for Israel by the West. “We are facing a digital fascism that has no tolerance for even the photographs of Palestinian martyrs and bans them immediately,” Erdogan said, citing the killing of Haniyeh.

“They are resorting to every means to hide Israel’s cruelty and muzzle the Palestinian people’s voices. Especially social media companies have literally become militants,” he said in a speech in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Israel and its Western allies say Hamas is a terrorist organisation, a view rejected by predominantly Muslim Turkey, which is a NATO member.