Monitoring Desk
RAMALLAH: Palestinian human rights groups said on Saturday that Israel’s security officials are cracking down hard on Palestinian social media activists for allegedly inciting violence.
According to human rights groups, Israeli authorities have escalated their persecution of Palestinians on social media especially Facebook in 2022.
The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies said that as many as 410 Palestinians were arrested due to their social media activities in 2022. The center said that the number of arrests has increased as compared to the past. It added that 45 people were arrested in 2018, 184 in 2019, 220 in 2020, and 390 in 2021.
Social Media Activists in Palestine
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights said that the crackdown completely violates international law on human rights. It said that Israel “significantly escalated” its persecution of Palestinians last year to choke their freedom of speech.
Human rights activist Shahid warned that continuing such policies is likely to lead to “a violent environment that entrenches contempt for human rights.
Palestinian social-media experts told Arab news that over 2 million Palestinians use Facebook, with around half that number using TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, and Snapchat.
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Israel had pressurized the owner of Facebook and Instagram to limit the accounts of Palestinians they accuse of provocation to violence against Israel. Reports said that Meta had restricted and blocked hundreds of Palestinian accounts, forcing many Palestinian to turn to Telegram and Tik-Tok.
Israel reportedly wants to approve a law to curb content on social media that it views as inciting violence against Israelis. Shahid added Palestinians are being captured for Facebook posts that simply express anger at Israeli oppression and continued occupation of Palestinian areas, without any provocation to violence.
