"We provide protection for our computers by preventing people from accessing suspicious websites. The internet café we are trying to create is mixed with no moral disorder. We watch our clients and force those who cross the line to get out the café and never allow them back"
Mohamed Abu Dhaher; Manager of a internet café in Ramallah
General Overview
There is no country in the world with such complicated circumstances as that of Palestine . The beginning of these complications goes back to 1948 the state of Israel was declared on 78% of Palestinian land. The remaining area of the country – the Gaza Strip and West Bank – was subject to Egyptian and Jordanian governance, respectively. That situation continued until June 1967 when Israel occupied the remaining territories.
No practical steps were taken before the signing of Oslo agreement in 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Upon the agreement, the Palestinian authority was given small isolated areas in the West Bank and almost 60% of the Gaza Strip. The Declaration of Principles of Interim Self-government stipulated the establishment of an interim self-government for a period of five years or until a permanent settlement is reached, this settlement is still to be achieved.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had to start from near scratch and faced enormous barriers and an obstacle not least of these was having to ‘rule' belligerent Israeli occupation. In this context telecommunications in Palestine has always suffered due to the dominance of Israel over the whole sector.
Before the return of the PLO and creation of the PNA, Israel worked on imposing many military restrictions (1). For example, the Israeli military decree no. 1279/1989 stipulated that Palestinians were prohibited from using phone lines in "faxing, emailing, or any form of electronic posting" (2).
Before signing the Oslo agreement, the Israeli authority used to prevent the Palestinian authority in Gaza Strip and West Bank form leasing permanent internet lines that could work 24 hours a day. However, after the signing of the agreement, it became possible for Palestinians to enjoy permanent service "upon negotiations" (3). Following this the percentage of people with terrestrial phone lines in the Gaza Strip and West Bank did not exceed 3.14% in comparison with 30% for Israelis. Palestinian citizen have had to wait for almost 15 years in order to be able to have phone lines (4).
Internet and Telecommunications Sector
In a specialized report on the technical situation of the internet in Palestine , it was shown that the telecommunications infrastructure in the occupied territories was structured so that central "key points" are kept outside the areas run by or expected (eventually) to be run by Palestinians in any future agreement. Thus all phone calls are supposed to be transferred via Israeli "sections". For example, to complete a phone call from Khan Younis to Gaza city, the phone call will be routed through the Israeli center located in Ashkelon (5).
After the signing of agreements between Israel and the PLO, the situation has not changed. The Oslo Accords divided the Palestinian Authority areas into three regions: Region (A) is subject to full Palestinian control and include 95% of the Palestinian inhabitants, Region (B) is administratively controlled by the PNA but its ‘security' by Israel , Region (C) falls completely under Israeli control. Consequently, the Palestinian telephone network is still fragmented and linked to the Israeli grid (6).
When the PNA began to exercise its control the telecommunications sector was one of the first sectors that received its attention. The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology was founded to manage and regulate the telecommunications, information, and mail (7). During recent years, the ministry has achieved a number of positive steps, including passing several laws to develop the information society and prepare for an e-government project. Palestinians have been trained in the field of information technology in partnership with the private sector, universities, and civil society in order to build a strong foundation for the implementation of an information society (8).
The first practical step was the foundation of Pal-Tel Company ( http://www.paltel.ps ) which acquired an exclusive license to provide terrestrial and mobile phone services in 1997. This company was the first to launch a cellular phone service in Palestine "Jawwal" ( http://www.jawwal.ps ) in 1999. The number of terrestrial phone lines inside Palestine has increased from 80,000 in 1996 to 350,000 in 2003 (9).The 3.5 million Palestinians living on land governed by the PNA have some 974,000 mobile phone subscriptions in 2004 (10).
Pal-Tel acquired a monopoly contract for the services it provided. Recently the Minister of Telecommunication in the Hamas government Gamal El-Khodary granted another license for mobile phones to the Al-Watania International Company. Al-Watania is predominantly a Kuwaiti company working from Emirates.
Concerning the internet by 2001 there were 13 companies providing internet services.
Despite the difficulties faced by all Palestinians by 2004 some 9.2% of Palestinian families had internet access, and 26.4% of the families had a computer set. Some 33% of Palestinians over the age of 10 are internet users. The International Telecommunication Union report that there are up to 160 thousand internet users in Palestine in 2004 (11).
Telecommunication service in Palestine is expensive in comparison to neighboring countries. The main reason for this is the relationship between Pal-Tel and the Israeli network as the Palestinian company has to purchase the service from Israel and then re-sell it in Palestine (12). The average cost of subscription 25 dollars per month. This is considered a huge sum of money given the difficult economic circumstances in Palestine .
The Palestinian Minister of Telecommunications clarified the nature of this problem by saying that the Palestinian Telecommunications company purchases internet service from Israel according to the Oslo agreement. Israel provides the service to its citizens for one third the cost of the similar service provided to Palestinians. The price of 1 Meg in Israel is only 70 Shekels. The price of the same capacity for Palestinians is 205 Shekels in addition to taxes.
The political problems affect the telecommunication sector in Palestine all the time. The most obvious obstacle is the continuity of Israeli domination over the Radio Frequency Spectrum signals over Palestine . This prevents the PNA from controlling telecommunication resources. Israel refuses to separate the Israeli and Palestinian networks. Israeli companies also illegally allow their telecommunications to be broadcast over Palestinian land ( Orange and Barak) and in this they are supported by the Israeli government. Thus Israeli companies control some 56% of the Palestinian mobile phone market (13).
When Israel redeployed its troops from Gaza strip in September 2005, it did not cooperate with the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunication. It did not even provide the ministry with answers about the telecommunication infrastructure in the strip. Moreover, Israel destroyed the phone lines before the redeployment. Israel cut the main connection line between the north and the south of the Gaza strip. It also applied large amounts of rubble on the central part of that line in what was the "Kafar Daroom" Settlement (14). After the redeployment the Palestinian ministry announced the necessity for each local company and office to have a license to market the services of the Israeli telecommunications company working in the Palestinian market (15).
Despite these obstacles, the Palestinian internet market is growing strongly and the ministry is dominating all. Palestine has (eventually) gained its online code (.ps) (16), on which many official websites are registered. The Palestinian National Authority for the Internet (PNAI) was founded upon the presidential decree no. 20/2001 and no. 59/2003 with the purpose of administering the internet in Palestine . The ministerial cabinet resolution issued in session 13 dated 2 August 2006 entitled the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology to reshape the authority to be fully connected to the cabinet like any other governmental authority (17).
Censorship and Website Blocking
There are no Palestinian laws covering the dissemination of information on the internet, or to organization the workings of internet cafes. In addition, there are no reports about any kind of official control over web content or rules' declaring what constitutes legitimate activities on internet (18). It seems that this remarkable freedom perhaps has more to do with technical reasons than respect for freedom of expression. This can be seen when the freedom enjoyed on the internet is compared to that in the more traditional media.
The Ministry of Information is entitled to license different media facilities and activities and they impose strict security controls on them (19). Law No. 9/1995 Press and Publication stipulates that the author, the editor, and the owner of the publication are liable for the articles and the officials' statements published in it. Article 37 of the same law stipulates that it is prohibited to print or to publish news articles which are intended to undermine confidence in the national currency (20). This article gives an example of the flexibility of the deployment of the law considering that there is no Palestinian currency. Moreover, article 49 stipulates that the Minister of Information is entitled to issue regulations and resolutions to implement the provisions of the said law (21). This gives the minister powers to control the press and publications in general.
A specialized technical report monitored the difficulties the PNA has in censoring the internet. The report said that the reason for this is the Israeli control of the main points of the telecommunications network, which allows citizens to go around any blocking attempts by the Authority (22). The PNA has not attempted to impose any systematic censorship so far. Indeed there is just one known case of a website being blocked. The Palestinian Telecommunications company was once claimed to be responsible for blocking the Al-Aqsa Radio website on 19 July 2005 . The website officials considered this a very serious step against freedom of expression (23).
This situation of full freedom to surf the Internet seems an extraordinary considering that the PNA monitors the traditional media and given that there are elements of the society that are deeply conservative. However, it has been reported that there are an increasing number of voices calling for the need to impose legislation and laws that criminalize misuse of the internet. Further these people claim that the internet should be supervised so that adolescents cannot use it (24). The Palestinian Socialist Ra'fat Abul Roos reported that adolescents in Gaza often misuse the internet as a result of the severe stress and the lack of a regulatory control (25).
Internet Cafés
Internet cafés in Palestine are the most important means by which young Palestinians can connect to the internet and hence to the outside world. It is claimed that in 2004 there were some 300 internet cafés in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This constitutes a sever challenge to the Israeli siege, which aims to divide cities both internally and from each other, since it allows Palestinians to communicate with each other (26).
There is no official censorship of the internet cafés in Palestine . There are no rules regulating the cafes such as provisions which require users to register their names. The cost of internet access per hour is ranging between 2 to 4 Shekels (27)(28).
Internet cafés in the Palestinian territories are very important given the political situation. Since the beginning of the outbreak of the Intifada in 2000 and the proliferation of military checkpoints between cities and villages, internet cafes gained greater popularity in major Palestinian cities. The internet has become an important means of communication between relatives and friends (29). Perhaps the most important use of the internet in Palestine is resisting the occupation by exposing the violations of the occupying Israeli forcing which can be rapidly exposed and denounced across the world.
Because some of the community within Gaza and the West Bank are conservative complete freedom when using the internet in internet cafés has been controversial, especially since the age groups who use the cafés the most are between 15-25 years old. This motivated some cafes to impose self-censorship on activities that are legitimate within the cafés; As one café owner said “We are providing protection to computer sets by disenabling access to suspicious websites. We kick out those who violate the assigned limitations and prevent them from coming back" (30).
Due to these popular objections against absolute freedom of the internet in internet cafés some internet providers have proposed to "filter" the websites as a special service for those who requires it for a small increase in the subscription fee. This service was met by varied reactions because of the difficulty of conducting actual censorship and because the main provider is in Israel (31).
The religious pressure against the freedom in internet cafés gave way to violence in October 2006 inside the Jabaliya refugee camp when a group calling itself the "Islamic Truth Swords" exploded a device weighing ten kilograms inforont of an internet cafe, which led to the bombing of the whole café. The group claimed that it was "teeming with corruption and corruptors and immoral acts". The group also vowed to continue targeting what they call corrupt and corruptors in the Gaza Strip (32).
Internet cafés in Palestine have witnessed another phenomenon, that some have been assigned as for women only. This type of internet café has attracted young women who were unable to visit public internet cafés for social and religious reasons (33). These cafes are located in major cities such as Ramallah, Biera, etc (34).
In addition to the prohibiting men and women from mixing in these cafés the owners also impose censorship on the visitors. One of the managers of a female only internet café mentioned that they play the role of the social controller of the internet users by setting up a device to "filter" certain websites (35).
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1-International Telecommunication Union, The World Summit for Information Community, Palestine participation, www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/c/S03-WSIS-C-0007!!MSW-A.doc (visited on 13 August 2006 )
2-Nigel Parry, the Past and Future of Information Technology in Palestine , http://www.nigelparry.com/mideastinternet/unitednationspaper.html (visited on 2 July 2006 )
3-Nigel Parry, the Past and Future of Information Technology in Palestine, http://www.nigelparry.com/mideastinternet/unitednationspaper.html (visited on 2 July 2006)
4-International Telecommunication Union, The World Summit for Information Community, Palestine participation, www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/c/S03-WSIS-C-0007!!MSW-A.doc (visited on 13 August 2006 )
5-Nigel Parry, the Past and Future of Information Technology in Palestine , http://www.nigelparry.com/mideastinternet/unitednationspaper.html (visited on 2 July 2006 )
6-Nigel Parry, the Past and Future of Information Technology in Palestine , http://www.nigelparry.com/mideastinternet/unitednationspaper.html (visited on 2 July 2006 )
7-Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse1.asp?id=21&tbl=d_main_but (visited on 28 September 2006 )
8- Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse1.asp?id=21&tbl=d_main_but (visited on 28 September 2006 )
9-International Telecommunication Union, The World Summit for Information Community, Palestine participation, www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/c/S03-WSIS-C-0007!!MSW-A.doc (visited on 13 August 2006 )
10-International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, Palestine , http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=14 (visited on 2 April 2006 )
11-International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, Palestine , http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=14 (visited on 2 April 2006 )
12-Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology: we will offer soon a draft for a new law telecommunication law, Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse.asp?id=57&tbl=all_news&dep=reports (visited on 28 September 2006 )
13-International Telecommunication Union, The World Summit for Information Community, Palestine participation, www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/c/S03-WSIS-C-0007!!MSW-A.doc (visited on 13 August 2006 )
14-Saidam: The Palestinian Provided us with information, Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse.asp?id=74&tbl=all_news&dep=reports (visited on 28 September 2006 )
15-Minister Saidam: Occupation Forces attacked five towers, Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse.asp?id=80&tbl=all_news&dep=reports (visited on 30 August 2006 )
16-Ministry of Telecommunication: we support initiatives to facilitate access to the internet, Al-Ayam e-newspaper, http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/doc_view.aspx?did=18593&Date... (visited on 3 September 2006 )
17-The Illustrative Memo of Palestinian National Authority for Internet law, Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, http://www.mtit.gov.ps/detalse1.asp?id=28&tbl=d_main_but (visited on 22 September 2006 )
18-Internet Under Surveillance, Reporters without Boarders, 2004
19-Sherif Mansour, The Annual Report on Civil Society Democratic Transformation in the Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khaldon Publications
20-Palestine National Information Center , Printing and Publication Law, http://www.pnic.gov.ps/arabic/social/law5.html (visited on 8 August 2006 )
21-Palestine National Information Center , Printing and Publication Law, http://www.pnic.gov.ps/arabic/social/law5.html (visited on 8 August 2006 )
22-Nigel Parry, the Past and Future of Information Technology in Palestine , http://www.nigelparry.com/mideastinternet/unitednationspaper.html (visited on 2 July 2006 )
23-Palestine Dialogue Network, Palestine Telecommunication Company blocks a website …, http://www.palestinianforum.net/forum/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=33777 (visited on 12 June 2006 )
24-Gaza youth travel around the world through chatting, Donia Al-Watan newspaper, http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news.php?go=show&id=24866 (visited on 26 September 2006 )
25-Gaza youth travel around the world through chatting, Donia Al-Watan newspaper, http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news.php?go=show&id=24866 (visited on 26 September 2006 )
26-International Telecommunication Union, The World Summit for Information Community, Palestine participation, www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/03/wsis/c/S03-WSIS-C-0007!!MSW-A.doc (visited on 13 August 2006 )
27-Gaza youth travel around the world through chatting, Donia Al-Watan newspaper, http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news.php?go=show&id=24866 (visited on 26 September 2006 )
28-Cyber Cafes in Palestine is a free space … , Al-Watan newspaper, http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news.php?go=show&id=3415 (visited on 14 May 2006 )
29-Yousif Al-Sahyeb, Mobile to skip siege and military blockades, Al-Hayat newspaper, http://www.daralhayat.com/society/11-2004/20041105-06p17-02.txt/story.ht... (visited on 3 June 2006 )
30-Nesreen Hamdan and who is Abu Ghawash, Internet for Girls, Al-Hayat newspaper, http://www.alhayat-j.com/details.php?opt=3&id=11768 (visited on 12 June 2006 )
31-Mahmoud Abul Henod, Youth and negative impacts of the internet, Al-Sabah newspaper, http://www.alsbah.net/alsbah_nuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid... (visited on 9 July 2006 )
32-Unidentified gunmen pump cyber café in Jabaliya, Palestine Press, http://www.palpress.ps/arabic/index.php?maa=ReadStory&ChannelID=51462 (visited on 10 October 2006 )
33-Nesreen Hamdan and who is Abu Ghawash, Internet for Girls, Al-Hayat newspaper, http://www.alhayat-j.com/details.php?opt=3&id=11768 (visited on 12 June 2006 )
34-Nesreen Hamdan and who is Abu Ghawash, Internet for Girls, Al-Hayat newspaper, http://www.alhayat-j.com/details.php?opt=3&id=11768 (visited on 12 June 2006 )
35-Nesreen Hamdan and who is Abu Ghawash, Internet for Girls, Al-Hayat newspaper, http://www.alhayat-j.com/details.php?opt=3&id=11768 (visited on 12 June 2006 )
