Emirati pop star Ahlam enrages Lebanese calling them 'falafel-peddlers'

Emirati pop diva Ahlam has stirred up controversy, yet again, after she called Lebanese people "falafel-sellers" and "beggars" on social media, days after her reality show was cancelled after just one episode.

The Arab Idol judge made the comments in response to a Lebanese TV comedian, who on Tuesday dedicated an entire skit to making fun of the diva's extravagant lifestyle.

"This is a video for the beggars in the Lebanese media who have insulted their queen. A poem from my country responding to them," Ahlam tweeted on Thursday.

The opening words of the poem, which is in the Emirati dialect, go: "Man, get up and make us some falafel".

"I'm telling the beggars so they won't keep on talking about their mistress and queen. Let them prove they love their country and pick up the rubbish from their streets," she then said, referring to the former garbage crisis that sparked repeated protests in Lebanon.

	Falafel is a traditional Lebanese food [Getty]

Ahlam's ill-mannered tweets sparked angry responses from Lebanese, who in a rare sign of solidarity used the Arabic-language hashtag #BanAhlamFromLebanon to call for her to be barred from entering the country.

"To the heifer Ahlam: the rubbish on our streets is being picked up, however, the rubbish piled up in your head is still there from all the plastic surgery you've done," said Twitter user Nada Halawi.

Hanadi Issa said: "Ahlam deserves this online pulverising. The Lebanese are above you, you mental patient.

The online row comes at a time of escalating tensions between Lebanon and the Sunni Gulf states and a string of deportations of Lebanese expats for alleged connections to the Shia militant group Hizballah.

In the UAE, seven people, three of whom were said to be Lebanese, were recently put on trial in Abu Dhabi, charged with spying for Hizballah. Last month, three Lebanese citizens, including one with dual Canadian citizenship, were brought to court in the UAE accused of forming a Hizballah cell.

Ahlam made headlines earlier this week, when a reality television show starring her was axed after one episode, in response to viewer complaints and outrage on social media.

The over the top programme pitted 12 diehard fans against each other, battling their way to the heart of "Queen Ahlam" and a job as her assistant.