July 9 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) said on

Tuesday it would start taking down more posts that target

"Zionists", where the term is used to refer to Jewish people and

Israelis rather than representing supporters of the political

movement.

The Facebook and Instagram parent said in a blog post it

would remove content "attacking 'Zionists' when it is not

explicitly about the political movement" and uses antisemitic

stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence

directed against Jews or Israelis.

Meta's hate speech policy prohibits direct attacks on people

on the basis of what it calls protected characteristics, which

include race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability and

gender identity, among others.

The social media giant said its existing policies, which

treat the term "Zionist" as a proxy for Jewish or Israeli people

in just two narrow circumstances, did not sufficiently address

the ways people use the word more broadly.

The policy update, which follows Meta's consultations with

145 stakeholders representing civil society and academia across

global regions, comes as tensions escalate in the Middle East

amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Meta has been criticized for years on how it handles content

involving the Middle East, and those criticisms shot up further

after the start of the war, with rights groups accusing the

company of suppressing content supportive of Palestinians on

Facebook and Instagram.