Digital Repression in Palestine

Abstract

While Israeli suppression of Palestinian voices is well-understood, much less is known about the Palestinian authorities' repression of Palestinians - the very people they are supposed to represent. This paper investigates digital repression by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority through semi-structured interviews - in-person and online - with 19 Palestinian activists who post on social media. Many of our findings echo those from other repressive contexts, but the unusual Palestinian context also gives rise to several unique elements. For example, Palestinian authorities, while incorporating some high-tech methods, appear to rely primarily on a low-tech, labor-intensive apparatus to monitor, intimidate, and censor their targets, some of which involves highly personalized forms of repression. We also heard credible accusations of Palestinian authorities' collaboration with Iranian and Israeli governments, the latter typically viewed as an adversary by Palestinians. We consider the implications of these findings and offer recommendations both for activists and social media platforms.