A Leauki's Writings

This article is in itself interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8585775.stm

But I thought it would be fun to add a few bits of information I have learned from other news about Gaza.

 

 By Jon Donnison and relevant well-known facts added by Leauki
BBC News, Gaza

In a busy internet cafe in the centre of 
the Gaza concentration camp, lots of people, mostly young, are typing and clicking away in a territory that is so poor that it deserves everyone's compassion.

Some of them are engrossed in the world of Facebook
, a typical hobby in this prison with no contact to the outside world. "I use it 10 hours a day," says Mohammed who owns the shop located in this overcrowed poverty-stricken city. "I have over 200 Facebook friends."

But Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, believes the population's love of social networking websites is making it easier for Israel to recruit spies
among a population loyal to the Hamas government.

Israel has long maintained networks of informers in the West Bank and Gaza in its effort to derail the activities of militant groups.

Historically, collaborators have often been killed if discovered, and this week Hamas announced
, in a move that made clear its commitment to peace, it would execute anyone caught acting as an agent for Israel.

Facebook "is a big, big thing that the Israelis use", says Ehab al-Hussein, a spokesman for the Hamas-run interior ministry.

"Many people don't have security sense. They go on the internet and talk about all their personal problems such as with their wives or girlfriends," he says
to a BBC reporter who then published the interview on the Internet.

Israel's intelligence services can then contact people
in the totally isolated concentration camp by telephone, e-mail or using existing Israeli agents in Gaza, and use the information to pressure people to become spies.

The internet
, a tool commonly available to the poor and oppressed in a concentration camp, "allows them to make people feel Israel knows everything about them", says Mr Hussein.

Ronen Bergman, an Israeli expert on intelligence and author of Israel's Secret War with Iran, says monitoring social networking sites
where many oppressed Gazans spend their free time is the very minimum you would expect from his country's intelligence services.

"Israel is using the personal information that is put in massive amounts on the internet to identify the people who can maybe help Israel," he says.

"If in 50 years they open up the secret files of the Israeli secret service, the Shin Bet, and military intelligence, the sophistication of electronics that is being used by Israel now in the Gaza Strip would put even the legendary Q from the James Bond movies to shame."

But Mr Bergman says that the intelligence community's current thinking is that using personal information gleaned from the internet to pressure or even blackmail potential informants is not considered effective in recruiting long-term informants.

He says such threats are not often enough to get people to commit such a serious offence as collaborating
and stopping actions that would be considered criminal if the intended victims weren't Jews.

But online detail, he says, can help intelligence services identify people who might be useful - such as those with good access to Hamas or to
other criminal networks.

When asked to comment, the Israeli government said it was not its practice to talk about its security services' modes of operation.

Even Mr Hussein admits he has a Facebook page
like many people in the poverty-stricken Gaza strip, "but I'm careful about the information I put on," he says. "I only say I am a Hamas spokesman."

He is probably not the only member of Hamas communicating on Facebook and the internet
.

This is partly because other forms of communication, particularly mobile phones, are easily bugged and can be used to track movements, Mr Bergman says, so the internet has become a more preferable option.
The fact that mobile phones can be easily bugged and that hence other means of communication, like the Internet or satellite TV, are employed instead is a common problem in poverty-stricken areas as well as concentration camps.

Virtually all Palestinians leaving Gaza now do so for medical reasons
to be helped by the evil opressors in hospitals paid for by the same people Hamas is trying to kill.

One reason Israeli intelligence is watching the social networking websites
used by destitute Gazans who cannot afford food or water to try to identify potential informants is because a historical source of collaborators no longer exists, according to Mr Bergman.

Up until the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, started in 2000, thousands of Gazans had permits to enter Israel each day to work
.

These people had direct contact with Israelis and were sometimes approached by Israeli intelligence officers and asked to collaborate.

But these days the border is virtually sealed
despite the obvious advantages of having murderers and terrorists run into Israel and murder people at will.

Virtually the only Palestinians allowed through are often in wheelchairs or bandaged up, seeking medical treatment in Israel
, a country that should be destroyed but can be relied on for healthcare.

Some of those say they've been asked for information about Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"They asked if I knew any people in my neighbourhood who were members," says Khaled, a young man from Gaza City, who will give only his first name
because he has nothing to fear.

He had to go to Israel to seek medical treatment after being injured in last year's conflict with Israel.

He says he did not pass on any information that the Israelis would not already have known.

But he gives an insight into how intelligence officers pressure people to become informants.

"They say that they know everything about you, but actually it's information you have already published on Facebook," he says.

"It's not safe to publish such information - I believe it allows Israel to keep watching our movements."

Last year, Israel dismissed as "simply ludicrous" allegations that its security forces had told Palestinians seeking permits to exit Gaza
and enter Israel for medical treatment that they would only be allowed to leave if they supplied information on militant groups since it is commonly expected that Gazans have both the right to shoot at Israel and receive medical care from Israel.

 

So, did you know that using facebook is a common hobby in a concentration camp and that the poor and opressed sometimes don't use their mobile phones because they can be bugged?

 


Comments (Page 1)
2 Pages1 2 
on Apr 08, 2010

...

on Apr 08, 2010

As to the original premise of the article, I can see where it would be useful.  Loose lips and such.  Which would not require an active recruitment, but just passive monitoring.  People (especially untrained and unprofessional ones) like to brag.  I thin it is a very smart move. And I am sure Facebook is a Zionist plot for just that purpose!

It is actually a brilliant strategy.  No more risking lives of your friends.  Let social networking do the job for you while Mohammed's "friends" sit safely in a building miles away!

What is stupid is anyone would be surprised that this was not being used to gather intelligence.  But then the capacity for stupidity of those in Media and government does not surprise me any longer.

on Apr 08, 2010

I never thought that Israel wouldn't use Facebook for exactly that purpose so the article didn't impress me.

But we can learn two things from this.

First, for some reason this is a problem for Hamas whereas exposure to enemy propaganda via the Internet is not a problem for Israel.

Second, the "concentration camp" full of poor, oppressed people has Internet access and mobile phone networks.

For some reason stories like this one and stories about how oppressed "Palestinians" are never appear together.

 

on Apr 08, 2010

First, for some reason this is a problem for Hamas whereas exposure to enemy propaganda via the Internet is not a problem for Israel.

The author is as stupid as the idiot hamas terrorist using facebook

Second, the "concentration camp" full of poor, oppressed people has Internet access and mobile phone networks.

Stupid people cannot think for themselves as they have no capacity for rational thought.  So they just regurgitate what is fed to them.  And you are surprised by that?

For some reason stories like this one and stories about how oppressed "Palestinians" are never appear together.

it is a good addition to your collection of idiots in the media, but that is about all.  We know they are going to say this.  Fortunately, thinking people easily see the difference.  The sheep of the world would not believe you even if the hand of God wrote it on their foreheads.

on Apr 09, 2010

You know, Leauki, if that chip on your shoulder were any bigger I'm pretty sure you'd topple over.

on Apr 09, 2010

"The well balanced Irishman: a chip on both shoulders"

But this is still a real problem. People die because of the crap the media report.

This conflict could have ended a long time ago if Israel and the (non-terrorist) Arabs would simply work things out, but then some newspaper or television network decides to start things up again, either by pretending that the terrorists speak for the Arabs or by making up some story about Israel killing a child somewhere.

And yes, I do try to attract opponents and see if they can explain to me how they rationalise these things.

Do you think "Arafat" would have rejected Clinton's peace plan and started a new war if he hadn't known that the western media would support him and that he could gain sympathy by attacking Israel?

So yes, I have a real problem with most journalists because they make money off other people's sufferings, think they have a right to betray their country and think that in general law don't apply to them.

 

on Apr 09, 2010

Judging from all the bad news we hear about Gaza, one would have thought that the most pressing issue for Hamas is how to get weapons through the (allegedly) sealed border and not how to stop Gazans from publishing too much personal information on facebook.

 

on Apr 09, 2010

But this is still a real problem. People die because of the crap the media report.

There is an old Movie (early 80s) called Absence of Malice.  In it, AG James Wells tells the press something to the effect that we want the press to act responsibly, but when they don't there is not a hell of a lot we can do about it.  I always liked that quote.  For it is very true.  We the people/Government cannot do a lot about the irresponsibility of the press.  But we the people/individuals can.  We can boycott their petty childish games.  Unfortunately, there are too many sheeple around that will slavishly obey the press because it is the press.

They have done a lot of damage, including starting wars (the most famous being the Spanish American war).  But there is not a lot we can do about it.  Except be aware of their childish and dangerous activities, and ostracize them.

Once we get katie Couric to the level of a used car salesman, we will have succeeded.

Do you think "Arafat" would have rejected Clinton's peace plan and started a new war if he hadn't known that the western media would support him and that he could gain sympathy by attacking Israel?

After his capture, Saddam said he never thought Bush would invade.  Why?  The press.  That was partially his fault as we already know that CNN catered their reports to his desires.  But it still shows that the press reports and slants what it wants, not what is there.

So yes, I have a real problem with most journalists because they make money off other people's sufferings, think they have a right to betray their country and think that in general law don't apply to them.

Yes they do.  But refer to the first above.  We can vote with our wallets.  Indeed, my wife turned on NBC nightly news last night and I told her to turn it off.  I will not support liars, frauds, and incompetents.

on Apr 09, 2010

Yes they do.  But refer to the first above.  We can vote with our wallets.  Indeed, my wife turned on NBC nightly news last night and I told her to turn it off.  I will not support liars, frauds, and incompetents.

We can also, one day, treat them like other people before the law.

If some bastard takes a picture of a terrorist launching a rocket I don't care about his supposed right to "free speech". I care only about the fact that it is HIS responsibility to stop or report (in time) a crime he observes, not make money off it.

 

on Apr 09, 2010

If some bastard takes a picture of a terrorist launching a rocket I don't care about his supposed right to "free speech". I care only about the fact that it is HIS responsibility to stop or report (in time) a crime he observes, not make money off it.

In this country, it is not free speech. It is freedom of the press.  And specifically mentioned in the Constitution.  I am sure you can get that law passed in many European Countries (after all they have laws about Nazi stuff now), but the day it passes in the US is when the US becomes a banana republic (not saying never, but I hope never).

on Apr 09, 2010

In this country, it is not free speech. It is freedom of the press.  And specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

Can this freedom usually be used to excuse every crime if only the criminal documents it at the same time?

 

on Apr 09, 2010

Leauki
Can this freedom usually be used to excuse every crime if only the criminal documents it at the same time?

 

The reporter is not shooting the rocket, he is just taking the picture.  There is a difference between taking a picture of yourself committing a crime and taking a picture of someone else doing it.  In the former, you are committing a crime outside of reporting.

on Apr 09, 2010

The reporter is not shooting the rocket, he is just taking the picture. 

Even it were legal to stand by and do nothing, the journalist will still have to break the law when the criminals tell him where to go to take the picture.

 

on Apr 11, 2010

(The quip about the Irishman is a good one, gonna have to find a way to use that somewhere)

Leauki, I understand what frustrates you there, but if you start prosecuting Journalists for witnessing crimes that's a dangerous way to go, and makes it very easy for an oppressive government to take advantage of. For instance, should journalists in Iran be arrested for photographing rallies that the government has declared illegal? Nevermind that they are, often... we already know that the Iranian regime is morally bankrupt. It seems to me that criminalizing journalistic witnessing of a crime would be a substantial blow to press freedom, which is crucial for a healthy democracy.

(So is press that actually does its damned job, but that's a different issue)

So, while I agree with you that the reporter filming those rocket launches as you describe is probably immoral (tough to say without specific details, but if he's letting the militant in question direct him for propaganda purposes, absolutely), but criminalizing that behaviour sounds like a legislative can of worms that'll be very dangerous to pop open.

on Apr 11, 2010

Leauki, I understand what frustrates you there, but if you start prosecuting Journalists for witnessing crimes that's a dangerous way to go, and makes it very easy for an oppressive government to take advantage of. For instance, should journalists in Iran be arrested for photographing rallies that the government has declared illegal? Nevermind that they are, often... we already know that the Iranian regime is morally bankrupt. It seems to me that criminalizing journalistic witnessing of a crime would be a substantial blow to press freedom, which is crucial for a healthy democracy.

I think oppressive governments will always arrest journalists for whatever they want, regardless of whether we arrest them for real crimes or not.

Perhaps we should let the journalists decide. Just tell a BBC journalist (in a convincing way) that his house in London was hit by a rocket and his family died. Tell him that some guy named Billy saw the crime and decided not to interfere but to take a picture of the criminal firing the rocket. Then ask him if Billy, who could (and should) have saved his family should a) be punished for neglecting his public duty to help another human being or get paid lots of money for taking the picture and thus profiting from our journalist's tragic fate.

So yes, freedom of press is crucial for a healthy democracy. But relying on your fellow man to help you against criminals (or at least not to profit from them) is also crucial for a healthy democracy, crucial for a healthy society of any type.

I think the behaviour is already illegal. Journalists just got used not to be persecuted any more. I doubt such behaviour was covered by "freedom of press" anywhere in the world until a few decades ago. And I don't think the world has become a better place since it was.

The problem is not so much the legality of taking pictures of criminal acts rather than stopping them, because that's illegal already, but the fact that it is journalists who would report what happened to the criminal journalist. And you can be sure that they won't say anything about the journalist being punished for violating a law that applies to everyone but they will claim it was specifically an attack against the "free press".

In reality, I think, a free press is only under attack when governments start persecuting journalists for what they say rather than what they do. But criminal behaviour should be illegal for everyone. There is ONE law for everyone, not one for journalists and one for the sorry rest of the population. And the monopoly of the law is far more important for society than freedom of press or even democracy.

 

 

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