Intifada 3.0? Cyber colonialism and Palestinian resistance

Tawil-Souri, H. and Aouragh, M. 2014. Intifada 3.0? Cyber colonialism and Palestinian resistance. Arab Studies Journal. XXII (1), pp. 102-133.

TitleIntifada 3.0? Cyber colonialism and Palestinian resistance
TypeJournal article
AuthorsTawil-Souri, H. and Aouragh, M.
Abstract

Palestine “exists” on Google and increasingly in various other “virtual” ways. But are “Palestine” on Google or the acquisition of the google.ps domain name in 2009 examples of political resistance on the internet? For Palestinian politicians, virtual presence has historical significance.
Consider, for example, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology’s (MTIT) suggestion that “ICTs information and communications technology] contribute directly to the national goal of establishing and building an independent state.”3 Within that context, Sabri Saydam, adviser to Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas and a former MTIT minister himself, posited Google’s 2013 move as “a step towards...liberation.” 4 For Israeli politicians, as quoted above, the emergence of (a virtual) “Palestine” poses ideological and practical dangers. Both camps ascribe power to the internet. Their only disagreement is over the ends to which the internet is a means: The internet is a threat to the existence of the state of Israel or a step toward a future state. At heart, however, both views are a form of technological determinism. They remove the internet from human, historical, and geopolitical contexts, and posit it as agent of political, social, or economic change. We contend that neither position is valid.

KeywordsSocial media, Middle Eastern politics, Economic development, Political activism, Settler colonialism, Political resistance, Communications infrastructure, Telecommunications, Political economy
JournalArab Studies Journal
Journal citationXXII (1), pp. 102-133
ISSN1083-4753
Year2014
PublisherArab Studies Institute
Publisher's version
Publication dates
Published01 Mar 2014

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