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Communications in the State of Palestine

(Redirected from Internet in the Palestinian territories)

Communications in the State of Palestine The State of Palestine has access to telephone, radio, television, and internet services; however, it significantly trails behind global standards in these sectors[1]. The communications landscape in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip is hindered by several challenges, including restrictions from the Oslo Accords, which limit the use of spectrum frequencies for wireless communication without Israeli approval. Consequently, this has obstructed the introduction of modern technology into the Palestinian territories.

Ooredoo Palestine advertisement board in Surda

Through persistent negotiations, Palestine successfully secured third-generation wireless communication frequencies, known as 3G, but this advancement is only available in the West Bank. In contrast, Gaza remains constrained to 2G technology. The constraints imposed by the Oslo Accords are only part of the broader framework governing the telecommunications industry in Palestine. Additional regulations, such as the Palestinian Telecommunications Law and various international agreements, further shape this sector.

The data clearly illustrate how Palestine lags behind its neighboring countries, primarily due to the impacts of the Israeli occupation and the restrictions imposed on acquiring advanced technology from around the world. The control over Palestine’s spectrum frequencies undeniably stifles its potential for growth in the communications sector.

Internet and Telephone

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Main article: Telephone numbers in the Palestinian territories

There are several Palestinian internet and telephone companies, the major ones are:

  • Paltel, a subsidiary of Paltel Group, provides telephone and internet services.[2][3]
  • Mada Al-Arab or mada.ps provides internet services.[4][3]
  • Hadara or my.hadara.ps provides internet services, but their website went down after the 7th of October.
  • Coolnet or coolnet.ps provides internet services.[5]
  • Fusion or fusion.ps provides internet services, the same as Hadara; their website went down after the 7th of October.
  • AjyalFi or AjyalFi.ps provides internet services. Also, their website went down after the 7th of October.

Mobile

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The Israeli Ministry of Communications has control over the cellular communications and technology Palestinians may build, which has been limited to 3G. This applies to the Western Bank only. Meanwhile, Gaza remains limited to 2G to this very day.[6] Israeli bombardment, electricity blockades and fuel shortages have caused the near-total collapse of Gaza’s largest cell network providers.[7] There are two mobile operators in the Palestinian territories: Jawwal with 2.9m customers,[8] and Ooredoo with 1.4m customers.[9]

Radio

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There are tens of licensed FM stations broadcasting in the Palestinian territories including but not limited to:

  • Ajyal network only has 8 stations by itself - www.arn.ps/radios
  • Raya - www.raya.fm

On October 1, 1999, the International Telecommunication Union assigned the call block E4A through E4Z to Palestine. Aircraft tail numbers, amateur radio stations, vessels at sea, and other radio facilities licensed by the Palestinian Authority will carry call signs beginning with "E4."

Censorship

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In 2008, opennet stated, "Access to the Internet in the Palestinian territories remains relatively open, although social filtering of sexually explicit content has been implemented in Gaza. Internet in the West Bank remains almost entirely unfiltered, save for a single news Website that was banned for roughly six months starting in late 2008. Media freedom is constrained in Gaza and the West Bank by the political upheaval and internal conflict as well as by the Israeli forces."[10]

On 23 April 2012, EFF published a list of websites censored by some Palestinian ISPs.[11] That same day, the Tor Project announced that they are witnessing politically motivated censorship in Bethlehem.[12]

In May 2012, the Ma'an news agency stated "The Palestinian Authority has quietly instructed Internet providers to block access to news websites whose reporting is critical of President Mahmoud Abbas."[13]

Mail

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Main article: Palestine Post

Palestine Post is responsible for providing postal service in West Bank, while the Ministry of Telecom and Information Technology of the State of Palestine is responsible for postal service in the Gaza Strip. Generally, international letters addressed to the West Bank are routed through both Jordan and Israel, and international letters addressed to Gaza are routed through only Israel. Delays often happen during the sending and receiving of letters from Palestine. Without these two national postal authorities, no international courier service would be serving the areas.[citation needed]

2023 Israel–Gaza war

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See also: Gaza humanitarian crisis (2023–present) § Communications

During the 2023 Israel–Gaza war, telecommunications company Paltel kept its networks online for most of the first six weeks. The company has a network operations center in Ramallah, West Bank. As of 2023, Paltel has 750 staff in Gaza, and they perform maintenance tasks such as repairing and refueling generators when an outage is detected. Five Paltel staff have been killed in the conflict. Paltel networks are essential for coordinating emergency services and humanitarian aid, and for documenting conditions inside Gaza.[14]

In response to previous wars in Gaza, Paltel has made preparations and has many contingencies to help keep its networks online. It buries its cables very deep (up to 26 feet) and has multiple power sources available, such as batteries, solar panels, and generators. Ultimately, Paltel is reliant on Israel, because its two main fiber optic cables pass through Israel. Israel has turned off telecommunications by interfering with these cables twice before.[14]

On November 3, 2023, the BBC World Service launched an emergency radio service for Gaza,[15] broadcasting on long-range AM from the British East Mediterranean Relay Station, to "provide listeners in Gaza with the latest information and developments as well as safety advice on where to access shelter, food and water supplies".[16]

On November 16, 2023, due to fuel shortages, Internet and telephone services went down in Gaza. This also resulted in a suspension of humanitarian aid convoys because humanitarian agencies could not communicate.[17] On November 18, services were partially restored after some fuel was allowed in and allocated to telecommunications.[18] On November 21, an Israeli strike against a telecommunications tower in North Gaza led to a telecommunications blackout in that area.[19]

An organization called Connecting Humanity provides internet access to people in Gaza using donated eSIMs, allowing them to connect to networks outside of Gaza.[20][21][22] By December 2023 200,000 people living in Gaza (around 10% of the population) had received internet access through an eSIM.[23][24][25]

See also

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References

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  •   This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
  1. ^ "Telecommunication Sector Note in the Palestinian Territories: Missed Opportunity for Economic Development - World Bank report". Question of Palestine. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  2. ^ "...:: Paltel Group ::..." www.paltelgroup.ps. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  3. ^ a b "Palestine unplugged: how Israel disrupts Gaza's internet". Access Now. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  4. ^ "مدى | إكتشف مدى". mada.ps. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  5. ^ "Coolnet". coolnet.ps. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  6. ^ "Why Gaza keeps losing communications". Washington Post. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  7. ^ Aly, Rasha (2023-12-17). "Palestinians in Gaza using eSim cards to get around communications blackout". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  8. ^ Blogger, Guest (2016-12-19). "Palestinian mobile network operator Jawwal signs the GSMA Humanitarian Connectivity Charter". Mobile for Development. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  9. ^ "Financial Information 2024 | Ooredoo Palestine". Ooredoo. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  10. ^ "ONI Country Profile: Gaza and the West Bank", OpenNet Initiative, 10 August 2009
  11. ^ "Palestinian Authority Found to Block Critical News Sites". 23 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Politically motivated censorship in Bethlehem, Palestine | Tor Blog".
  13. ^ "Palestinian media clampdown spreads to the Web | Maan News Agency". Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
  14. ^ a b "Keeping Gaza online: Telecom heroes risk life and limb under Israel's bombs". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  15. ^ Potter, Simon (2023-11-03). "BBC's emergency Gaza radio broadcasts show why World Service mustn't rely on digital technology". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  16. ^ "BBC World Service announces Emergency Radio Service for Gaza". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  17. ^ "Under a communication blackout, Gaza's 2.3 million people are cut off from each other and the world". AP News. 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  18. ^ "Telecom service partially restored in Gaza after limited fuel entry". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  19. ^ "Photos: Intense Israeli air strikes hit Gaza amid growing signs of truce". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  20. ^ Vo, Lam Thuy (2023-11-07). "'Let Me Tell Them Goodbye Before They Get Killed': How eSIM Cards Are Connecting Palestinian Families – The Markup". themarkup.org. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  21. ^ "Gazans had no cell service. An effort led by Egypt helped reconnect them". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "This activist is helping Palestinians get back online in Gaza when connection is lost under Israeli attack". CNN. 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  23. ^ Aly, Rasha (2023-12-17). "Palestinians in Gaza using eSim cards to get around communications blackout". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  24. ^ "When Gaza lost telephone and internet connection, this activist found a way to get Palestinians back online". The Mercury News. 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  25. ^ Elassar, Alaa; Tucker, Emma (2023-12-03). "When Gaza lost phone and internet under Israeli attack, this activist found a way to get Palestinians back online". CNN. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
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