Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Donate Sign Up
  • العربية
  • English
  • Policy Analysis
    • Civil Society
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Refugees
    • Scenario Matrix
  • Policy Insights
    • Policy Focus
    • Policy Labs
    • Podcasts
  • Policy Network
    • Members
    • Contributors
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Internship Program
    • Contact
    • Donate
    • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Media & Outreach
    • Op-Eds & Articles
    • In the Media
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Contacts
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Op-Ed via +972 Magazine

Elections or not, the PA is intensifying its authoritarian rule online

By  Marwa Fatafta on April 29, 2021

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email
  • Print

When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for elections in January, the news was met with profound skepticism. Abbas has previously declared elections without going through with them, and under his 16-year rule, the Palestinian Authority has become more corrupt and authoritarian, shedding doubt over whether the elections would be free, fair, or democratic. Indeed, with the looming threat of losing seats, Abbas is expected to announce the indefinite postponement of legislative elections, originally set to take place on May 22.

Even if elections are canceled again, the limited political organization that has taken place since they were decreed underscores just how much Palestinian political space has shrunk in the last two decades. This is largely a result of the PA’s restrictions and abuses on the ground, including the intimidation and harassment of journalists and activists, as well as the arbitrary detention and systematic torture of Palestinians who are critical of their government.

More recently, the PA has been relentlessly clamping down on dissenters in yet another space: the internet.

Last Wednesday, Facebook said it had stopped a cluster of hackers associated with the PA’s Preventive Security Service, the internal intelligence unit set up by Yasser Arafat in 1994, that was targeting Palestinians in the occupied territories, including activists, journalists, and people opposed to Fatah’s leadership. According to Facebook’s detailed analysis of the network, the PSS relied on social engineering using “fake and compromised accounts to create fictitious personas posing primarily as young women, and also as supporters of Hamas, Fatah, various military groups, journalists and activists to build trust with people they targeted and trick them into installing malicious software.”

This operation gives us an alarming look into what Palestinian political participation means in the digital age: more surveillance of the Palestinian people, and more control for the factions already in power.

In another report published by Facebook in January on inauthentic coordinated behavior — which it defines as “coordinated efforts to manipulate public debate for a strategic goal where fake accounts are central to the operation” — the social media giant said it had removed over 206 accounts, 78 pages, three groups, and 14 Instagram accounts primarily targeting Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The document didn’t specify the individuals or groups linked to the operation, but the content disseminated was critical of Abbas and supportive of his opponent, the exiled former security minister Mohammad Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates.

972 logo

Read the Original Article

An independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self determination within the framework of international law. Al-Shabaka materials may be reproduced and circulated with due attribution to Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. The opinions of individual members of Al-Shabaka’s policy network do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization as a whole.

  • Policy Analysis
    • Civil Society
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Refugees
    • Scenario Matrix
  • Policy Insights
    • Policy Focus
    • Policy Labs
    • Podcasts
  • Policy Network
    • Members
    • Contributors
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Internship Program
    • Contact
    • Donate
    • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Media & Outreach
    • Op-Eds & Articles
    • In the Media
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Contacts
  • Contact
    • Contact al-Shabaka by email at:
      [email protected]
    • Or by mail:
      Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network
      P.O. Box 8533
      New York, NY 10150

© 2010-2023 Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. All rights reserved.

×