KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Malaysia Prime Minister

Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday accused Meta Platforms ( META ) of

cowardice after his Facebook post on the assassination of Hamas

leader Ismail Haniyeh was removed, in his government's latest

run-in with the firm over blocked content.

Muslim-majority Malaysia is a supporter of the Palestinian

cause and Anwar had posted a video recording of his phone call

with a Hamas official to offer condolences over Haniyeh's death,

which was later removed.

Haniyeh's assassination in Iran on Wednesday has added fuel

to concern the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle

East war.

Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has said he has good

relations with the Hamas political leadership but no links on a

military level.

"Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Meta:

Cease this display of cowardice," Anwar posted on his Facebook

page.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on

Thursday and Malaysia's communications ministry said it would

address the issue at a press conference.

Malaysia has previously complained to Meta over its takedown

of content, including local media coverage of Anwar's last

meeting with Haniyeh, which was later restored.

Meta at the time said it was not deliberately suppressing

voices on its Facebook platform and was not restricting content

supporting the Palestinians.

Meta has designated Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement

that governs Gaza, as a "dangerous organisation" and bans

content praising the group. It also uses a mix of automated

detection and human review to remove or label graphic visuals.

Malaysia has long advocated a two-state solution for the

conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.