Palestinian Authority blocks 51 online media

Palestinian justice in the West Bank has decided to block about 50 websites considered as “threats” by the Palestinian Authority. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounces an unacceptable procedure that seems to be a means of sanctioning certain media critical of the power in place.

The Ramallah court issued Monday, October 21, a list of 51 different media, whose access will now be blocked. A total of 59 names are cited, including those whose site and Facebook page are affected by the blocking. In its decision, the prosecution explains that these media are guilty of ” attacking and denigrating the symbols of the Palestinian Authority ” and ” publishing contents that threaten national security and civil security “.

Media coverage includes Shehab News(based in Gaza), followed by 7.5 million people on Facebook, and Quds Network , followed by 6.6 million internet users. Others, sites whose pages are followed by several hundred thousand subscribers, are also concerned such as Ultra Palestine , Arab 48 , Pal Abroad  or Al-Majd . In addition, some of the names mentioned on the list do not have a website and are only present on Facebook.

“Blocking websites is a clear violation of the right to information ,” says Sabrina Bennoui, Middle East bureau chief at Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Palestinian Authority thus confirms its refusal to accept media pluralism and its desire to eliminate all opposition by making it invisible to the citizens. ” 

The Independent Commission for Human Rights and the Union of Journalists have decided to challenge this decision in court . The verdict is expected for Thursday, October 24.

One of the media quoted, ” Against the Tide, ” shared a series of old publications on his Facebook page to explain why he was stuck, as evidence of corruptionwithin the state or of nepotism . 

This is the second time that the Palestinian Authority has decided to block websites. In 2017, eleven siteswere blocked because they were close to Hamas and dissident politician Mohammed Dahlan. 

This year, Palestine ranks 137th out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index .

Copyright ©2016, Reporters Without Borders. Used with the permission of Reporters Without Borders, CS 90247 75083 Paris Cedex 02 https://rsf.org

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