The Electronic Intifada: The Palestinian Online Resistance in the 2nd Intifada

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the utility of the Internet in the war of ideas in the Al-Aqsa Intifada in the period from 2000-2008. It tests the hypothesis that the internet is a ‘force-multiplier’ and ‘equalizer’ for the Palestinians to counter a more militarily superior State of Israel. The prognosis offered in this paper is that the empowering characteristics of the internet have transformed the Palestinian struggle into ‘asymmetric warfare’ akin to Mao’s ‘People’s War’ fought on cyberspace. Empirical findings largely confirmed the hypothesis, but with reservations about the ‘equalizer’ effect. The effectiveness of the Palestinian’s online resistance is attributable to their assimilation into the NGO/IO community and achieving traction with the news media. However, decades of Israeli influence on US media and audiences continue to present a significant barrier. 


AUTHORS

Singapore Armed Forces

James K.H. Yin works in the area of corporate communications, information campaign planning, crisis communications, consequence management, media management, publicity and internal communications. He holds a B.Eng (Hon) in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore and recently, M.A. (Distinction) International Communications from the University of Leeds where his dissertation (published in this article) was awarded top honours.

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Keywords

A

AI
APT

C

C2
C2S
CDX
CIA
CIP
CPS

D

DNS
DoD
DoS

I

IA
ICS

M

S

SOA

X

XRY

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