Fake News Story Sets Off Israel-Pakistan Twitter Feud

JERUSALEM (AP) - A fake news story has touched off a tense Twitter confrontation between nuclear power Pakistan and Israel, widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal of its own, in an episode that underlines the potentially harmful impact of such stories in sensitive global affairs

In an apparent response to a fake story claiming Israel's former defense minister threatened a nuclear attack against Pakistan if it sends troops to Syria, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif reminded Israel that "Pakistan is a nuclear state too."

Israel's Defense Ministry tweeted back Saturday, saying the original story on the site AWD News was "totally fictitious."

AWD has been identified by fact-checking organizations as a fake news site.

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Israel maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying the existence of an arsenal. Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998. The countries have no diplomatic ties.

There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan to Israel's response.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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