When celebrities and politics mix, Twitter bites back. Everyone from Rihanna to One Direction's Zayn Malik has learned that tweeting your views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can quickly draw your fans into a heated debate. And this type of attention is not the kind you'd want to draw to yourself.

As we previously reported, Zayn Malik tweeted a simple, 15-character message on Sunday night to his 13 million followers.

It said: "#FreePalestine."

The message, which now has 220,000 retweets, spurred passionate reactions from his fans on Twitter. From death threats to relief that a celebrity believes in the Palestinian cause, the response quickly demonstrated how divided and passionate people feel about this issue - and how quickly they'll jump on a celebrity's views about the conflict.

According to the Daily Mail, some fans said the comment would result in him losing a fanbase in Israel.

One wrote: 'U have fans in #Israel. It broke me that one of my idols wand me to die @benwinstone @harry_styles @onedirection [sic].'

Another aimed a death threat at the 1D singer: "Please let me kill you."

Others were grateful for his support: "Zayn thanks for this tweet," another wrote on Twitter.

Zayn Malik, who is half-Pakistani and half-British, was raised Muslim and has a few tattoos in Arabic.

Others in the entertainment industry are not as brave to let their #FreePalestine tweet linger.

According to the Washington Post, two weeks ago Rihanna deleted a "#FreePalestine" tweet less than 10 minutes after it appeared.

She followed up with a picture of two young boys - one Palestinian and one Israeli - arm-in-arm, with the message: "Let's pray for peace and a swift end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Is there any hope?"

Let's pray for peace and a swift end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Is there any hope?.... pic.twitter.com/jHD56KXkcu

— Rihanna (@rihanna) July 15, 2014

NBA star Dwight Howard also quickly deleted a "#FreePalestine" tweet, saying it was "a mistake."

He added: "I have never commented on international politics and never will."

Perhaps it's best if celebrities don't. On the one hand, it keeps them neutral from conflicts and allows fans to follow them regardless of their inner political views and opinions. On the other hand, if celebrities do speak out and voice support for a cause, it'll strengthen some fans' respect and adoration for them. It's a risk, and it looks like Zayn Malik has no problem taking sides.

Do you know of any other celebrities that have taken a stance on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis? Let me know in the comments below.