Palestinian man arrested after Facebook wrongly translates post

A Palestinian man who posted 'good morning' in Arabic on Facebook was arrested by Israeli police after Facebook mistakenly translated the phrase as 'attack them'.

In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. Source: AAP

Israeli police arrested a Palestinian man after his "good morning" Facebook post was automatically translated to "attack them".

The construction worker posted a photo of himself next to a bulldozer, near Jerusalem, with the caption "good morning" in Arabic last week.

But police reportedly relied on Facebook's automatic translation software, which translated the Arabic phrase into "attack them" in Hebrew and "hurt them" in English.

Officers said the construction worker's Facebook post had been reported to the police before he was arrested.

The man was quickly released after the mistake, according to The Jerusalem Post.

"The suspect was detained for questioning by the police following a report that was filed by civilians," a police spokesperson told the publication.

"When it became clear what was published and there was no suspicion of incitement, the suspect was released immediately."

The post has since been deleted.

Police officers went on high alert when they spotted the post after past attacks involving construction vehicles.

In 2014, a Palestinian man hijacked an excavator and killed a pedestrian before turning over a bus.