Joey Barton continues criticism of Israel-Gaza conflict on Twitter after Yossi Benayoun dispute

QPR midfielder refuses to relent in Twitter tirade against the conflict in Gaza

Joey Barton at the Oxford Union, where he addressed the students (Rex)

Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has continued to deplore the violence in Gaza on Twitter after Yossi Benayoun labelled his comments 'stupid' and 'embarrasing' last week.

The pair played alongside one another last season at Queens Park Rangers but Benayoun, an Israeli international who has represented his country 96 times, now plays for Maccabi Haifa in his homeland.

Last Friday, Benayoun responded to his former teammate's very public opinions by posting: "mate things can never change you have been stupid and you will stay stupid all your life..embarrassing (sic)."

The death toll has reached over 1,250 Palestinians and 56 Israelis since 8th July with most of the casualties being civilians.

Writing under the hashtag #stopisraelkillinginnocents, Barton is refusing to relent in his efforts to increase the media exposure given to the conflict while making his views transparently clear in the process.

After a short period of interaction with some of his 2.65m followers over the issue, the 31-year-old eventually called it a night on Sunday with the comment: "I cannot continue to engage with these people. Anyone who even attempts to condone the murder of innocent people dosen't deserve a retort."

While a Palestinian delegation is expected to be in Cairo today for discussions about a possible humanitarian ceasefire, there is widespread scepticism over the results of any such meeting.

Barton, renowned for quoting The Smiths or German philologist and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche on the social media site, has so far appeared unmoved by the abuse sent his way and continued discussing the topic this morning.

Occasionally moving on to more trivial and light-hearted topics, such as colourful football boots, the former England international looks unlikely to stop pressing the issue any time soon.