- Palestinians face systemic exclusion from the digital economy, limiting their access to payment systems, e-commerce, and remote work.
- A 7amleh report highlights that this exclusion is structural, driven by platform policies, telecommunications restrictions, and financial barriers.
- Digital infrastructure is severely compromised, with Gaza suffering from the destruction of 81% of its telecommunications network since October 2023.
Structural Barriers
- Research by 7amleh tested 30 major services, finding consistent hurdles in account creation and verification for Palestinians.
- Payment platforms like PayPal remain inaccessible to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, despite being available to Israeli settlers in the same territory.
- The inability to access standard financial tools forces freelancers to use costly, unstable intermediaries, undermining their livelihoods.
Infrastructure and Conflict
- Telecommunications are controlled by external forces, leading to massive disparities in connectivity; while Israel uses 5G, Gaza has been largely limited to outdated 2G.
- A 2026 EU and UN report confirms that 81% of Gaza's telecommunications infrastructure is destroyed, with internet traffic plummeting by over 80% since late 2023.
- Digital workers in Gaza demonstrate extreme resilience, often seeking solar-powered hubs or walking long distances to secure enough signal for work.
Economic Impact
- Before the current conflict, the Palestinian ICT sector employed nearly 9,000 people and contributed 4% to the GDP.
- Remote work served as a critical pathway for youth to overcome movement restrictions; its disruption now severely impacts survival and economic agency.
- The report emphasizes that digital rights are economic rights, and platforms cannot ignore the political nature of their policies that enable access for some while systematically blocking others.