The article discusses cyber warfare with special reference to the Israel, Palestine conflict.

1. This work by Subhajit Paul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Cyber Colonialism and the New Media Warfare: Special reference to the
Palestinian Resistance
“How can a man in a cave out-communicate the world’s leading Communication societies?”
-Zaharna(2001)
As JoshuaKFowler,inhispaperon the ‘New Media Warfare’ideatesthe transferof traditional
warfare to the virtual andinformationfrontandthatin the specificcase itbecomesnecessaryto
manage and control the respective space bythe powersinvolved.
He furthersuggeststhatthe horizontal powerstructuresthatthe terroristorganizationslikethe
Hezbollahhave are more efficientascomparedtothe vertical powerstructuresthatmostconventional
militarieshave,withreference toinformationwarfare because the redtape involvedcauseshindrance
inthe fastand efficientdisseminationof information.
NowInternetissupposedtobe a platformwhere the freedomof expressionisheldparamount,
at leastthat isthe argumentthat the US and itsotherWesternalliesputforward whenthe MacBride
CommissionReportwaspublishedin1980, whichledto subsequentabandoningof the UNESCOby the
US and UK. Theyalso termedthe Brazilianefforttocreate ‘The New Internet’throughthe ‘MarcoCivil
da Internet’asthe Balkanizationof the Internetignoringthe NetNeutralityclause whichthe western-
backedinternetdoesn’tprovide for,therebysustainingthe ever-increasingdigitaldivide.Undersuch
circumstancesif the WesternScholarscomplainaboutthe terroristorganizationshavingbettersocial-
mediamanagement,itactuallyleadsustothinkhow a man in a cave is able to out-communicatethe
world’sleadingCommunicationsocieties.
It’squite amazingthateventhe smallestof lapsesincontrol overthe internettendstowreck
havoc inthe policyoffices of the hegemonicpowers.The needformaintainingthe hegemonyof culture
throughthe internetseemstobe extremelyimportanttothese powers.
Nowcomingback more to the east,anotherpaperby HelgaTawil Souri and MiriyamAouragh
entitled‘Intifada3.0? CyberColonialismandPalestinianResistance’talksaboutanexusbetweenthe
PalestinianElitesandthe Israeli Telecomauthoritieswhichhasledtoa digital divide betweenthe
PalestinianAuthorityAreasandthe mainlandIsrael.Thispaperalsodividescolonialisminto2kinds,
firstlythe SettlerColonialismandthenthe CyberColonialismandthenestablishesarelationbetween
the both,drawingon howSettlerColonialismharborsCybercolonialisminthe geographical constraints
of Israel andPalestine.
Nowgoingdownto the groundrealities, the PalestinianAuthorityAreashasonlyone functional
telecommunicationscompany‘PalTel’whichhasitsownISP‘Hadara’ whichprovidesinternetinboth
the West Bankand the Gaza Stripat higherratesand lowerbandwidths.Accordingtothe OsloAccords

2. This work by Subhajit Paul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
of 1993, the PalestinianAreashave beendividedinto3categoriesA, B and C,out of whichonlyonthe
areas withPalestinianControl,developmentof Communicationinfrastructure isallowed.Thishinders
the developmentof Palestine’sveryowninternetinfrastructure,therebyrenderingslowerinternet
speeds.Also,‘Hadara’buysinternetfrom Israeli ISP’satveryhighcostsmakingthe internetaccess
inaccessibletothe general publicinthe PA Areas.ThisDigital Divide pointstoa realitywhere the settler
colonialismhasinfactledtocyber colonialism.The ‘EnoughWallsCampaign’hasalsobeentermedasa
failure bya lotof resistance activists.
The onlysuccessthat thisinformationwarfare hasachievedisrecognition of Palestine by
Google in May 2, 2013, initsproducts andservicesamongotherminorsuccesses.Onground,nothing
has changed;there isstill only1telephone line betweenthe WestBankandThe Gaza Stripwhichis
frequentlycut-off by Israel.Itwill be long,ormaybe never,before the PalestinianOnline Resistance
actuallyamountstoaction onground.
Althoughthe InformationFronthastransformedoverthe years,the hegemonicpowersmost
oftenthannot,dominate the telecommunications andinternetscene because of the communications
infrastructure andthe subsequentflowof the information.Undersuchcircumstances,the ideaof cyber
colonialismisauniversal one andacyberwar is one that isalreadylost.
REFERENCES:
1. DerekCrockett, “AmidIsraeli ProtestGoogle StandsItsGround;it’sPalestine!”Washington
Times,7 May 2013.
2. Dan Williams,“Israel SaysGoogle’s‘Palestine’Page HarmsPeace Hopes,”Reuters,6May
2013.
3. HelgaTawil-Souri &MiriyamAouragh,“Intifada3.0?CyberColonialismandPalestinian
Resistance”NewYorkUniversity.
4. JoshuaK Fowler,NewMediaWarfare:Tweetingfromthe Frontlines,Departmentof
International Affairs,EuropeanGraduate School,December2009.
5. Brazil'scontroversial plantoextricate the internet fromUScontrol.(2013, September20).
RetrievedMarch18, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/brazil-
dilma-rousseff-internet-us-control