"Connection Interrupted: Israel’s Control of the Palestinian ICT Infrastructure and Its Impact on Digital Rights", Dec 2018

The development of information and communications technology (ICT) have allowed for an extensive flow of information in our lives surpassing territorial constraints. However, in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) Israel has been controlling the ICT infrastructure since its began its military occupation in 1967. Although per the Oslo Accords, an Interim Agreement signed between Israel and Palestinian representatives in 1995, Israel transferred some of this control to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip... 7amleh documented how in addition to establishing the Cyber Unit, Israel relies on its cooperation with high-tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to censor, block, and delete Palestinian content online. In 2017, The head of the Israeli Cyber Unit said that 85 percent of Israeli government requests to “remove content deemed harmful or dangerous” from social media services such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter were accepted... In addition to the restrictions imposed on the Palestinian ICT sector, Israeli telecommunications service providers operate in Israeli settlements in the West Bank contrary to international law. There are currently five Israeli telecommunication companies operating in Israeli settlements, including Cellcom, Partner, Pelephone, Hot Mobile and Golan Telecom...