Anger as One Direction are in two minds over Gaza

Two members of the One Direction boy band have split opinion over the war in Gaza.

Singer Zayn Malik was challenged by Israeli fans after he tweeted “#FreePalestine” to his 13 million followers.

His message has been retweeted around 150,000 times by Monday afternoon.

One fan told the 21-year-old, who was raised as a Muslim in Bradford, Yorkshire, that he should be “ashamed”. Another wrote: “I’m so disappointed right now”. One Israeli tweeted: “It broke me that one of my idols wants me to die”.

But others praised Mr Malik, who is half-Pakistani, for standing up for Palestinian civilians.

Last week, bandmate Harry Styles was criticised for being too pro-Israel.

Mr Styles, who has been pictured at kosher restaurants in north-west London, started following an Israeli journalist Lliana Bird on Twitter, after she wrote a piece for the Huffington Post on ‘Why I’m Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian’.

One fan told Mr Styles, who is not Jewish, that he was “supporting Israel and their slaughter of innocent civilians”.

Pop stars across the globe have commented on Operation Protective Edge, since the conflict between Hamas terrorists and the Israel Defence Forces began earlier this month.

Comedienne Joan Rivers launched a passionate defence of Israel against Hamas terrorism on an American channel; TV personality Piers Morgan was branded “Zionist scum” for a comment perceived to be pro-Israel; while singer Rihanna deleted a #FreePalestine post from her Twitter account. Singer Selena Gomez also backed people in Gaza on Twitter.