Social Media, Internet Shutdowns are the Latest Weapons in the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictEva Galperin On Wednesday, the IDF posted a video of what they claimed was the assassination of a senior Hamas Operative and followed it up with a Tweet from the @IDFSpokesperson account: We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead. This, in turn spurred a reply from Hamas, via @AlQassamBrigade: @idfspokesperson Our blessed hand will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves) This exchange prompted Brian Fung at The Atlantic to wonder if the war of words between Israel and Hamas violated Twitters of terms of service, which prohibits direct, specific threats of violence against others. Fung eventually concluded that the exchange did not constitute a violation of Twitters TOS, but Matthew Ingram took the opportunity to point out the extraordinary amount of power social media companies have in scenarios such as this one. Anonymous has also gotten in on the act. Reacting to a perceived threat by the Israeli government to shut down the Internet in Gaza, the ad-hoc hacker collective announced #OpIsrael, declaring we are ANONYMOUS and NO ONE shuts down the Internet on our watch. Anonymous supporters have reportedly begun defacing pro-Israel websites and distributing an Anonymous Gaza Care Package, containing some basic safety and surveillance avoidance information, as well as advice on how to maintain Internet connectivity in the event that Israel follows through on its threat of an Internet blackout. As Gaza and the West Bank are heavily reliant on Israel for their Internet infrastructure, a full-scale blackout is possible, though the likelihood of Israel following through on it is debatable. At this time, access to power and Internet connectivity in Gaza is spotty and inconsistent. Gazans have experienced power outages and are accustomed to relying on generators, but a concerted Israeli effort to shut down the Internet in Gaza has not yet materialized. In the meantime, dial-up connections can be a lifeline for residents of Gaza. Telecomix has published a guide to configuring and using a dial-up Internet connection. It is important to remember that dial-up connections are not secure. Your communications can be intercepted or spied upon. EFF recommends that you encrypt your browser traffic using HTTPS Everywhere. For the latest news in privacy, digital surveillance, and activism, please visit The Electronic Frontier Foundation linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 