Omar el Qataa is a photojournalist operating out of northern Gaza
Facebook has severely restricted the ability of Palestinian news outlets to reach an audience during the Israel-Gaza war, according to BBC research.
In a comprehensive analysis of Facebook data, we found that newsrooms in the Palestinian territories – in Gaza and the West Bank – had suffered a steep drop in audience engagement since October 2023.
The BBC has also seen leaked documents showing that Instagram – another Meta-owned platform – increased its moderation of Palestinian user comments after October 2023.
Meta – the owner of Facebook – says that any implication that it deliberately suppressed particular voices is “unequivocally false”.
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During a period of war, audience engagement might be expected to rise. However, the data showed a 77% decline after the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.
Palestine TV has 5.8 million followers on Facebook. Journalists at the newsroom shared statistics with us showing a 60% drop in the number of people seeing their posts.
“Interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people,” says Tariq Ziad, a journalist at the channel.
Over the past year, Palestinian journalists have raised fears that their online content is being “shadow-banned” by Meta – in other words, restricted in how many people see it.
To test this, we carried out the same data analysis on the Facebook pages of 20 Israeli news organisations such as Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom and Channel 13. These pages also posted a large amount of war-related content, but their audience engagement increased by nearly 37%.
Heads of State Summit of ALBA-TCP in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: ALBA-TCP
ALBA-TCP was founded in 2004 in an attempt to counter the US proposal of creating a “free trade zone of the Americas
December 14 marked the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s-Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP). ALBA-TCP was created in 2004 as a geopolitical alternative to the devastating advance of neoliberalism in the region.
The project was founded on December 14, 2004, in Havana by Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Currently, the organization has 10 member countries and four countries considered “special guests.” In 2006, Bolivia signed its membership; in 2007, Nicaragua; in 2008, Dominica; in 2009, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines; in 2014, St. Kitts and Nevis and Grenada; and in 2021, St. Lucia. The special invited countries are Syria, Haiti, Suriname, and now Palestine.
To commemorate the 20 years, social movements, political parties, and heads of state gathered in Caracas, Venezuela for the 24th Heads of State Summit as well as parallel meetings. The event was attended by the host, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; Bolivian President Luis Arce; Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel; Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega; Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves; Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne.
Independence and solidarity among countries
In their addresses during the Summit on December 14, the heads of state and invited countries stressed the importance of solidarity among countries seeking alternative ways of development and the need for unrestricted solidarity among people struggling against imperialist attacks. They also demonstrated their support for Nicolás Maduro and his victory in the last presidential elections.
Miguel Díaz-Canel said “We reiterate the strongest support for the Bolivarian revolution, led by President Nicolás Maduro…We also call for the elimination of the blockade against Cuba …We cry out for a free Puerto Rico and declare our solidarity with Haiti, our Cuban doctors are there…We reiterate our demand for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemn the attacks perpetrated by Israel against Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.”
The Bolivian President, Luis Arce, highlighted the historical importance of ALBA in its fight against economic projects promoted by the United States such as the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas): “The embrace of Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro not only marked history but also manifested the defeat of the hegemonic project of the FTAA. ALBA was born, ALBA placed the human being at the center, promoting that a better world is possible. Bolivia reaffirms, once again, its commitment to ALBA-TCP, because it is a resistance that raises its voice against the unjust and criminal blockade against Cuba…ALBA is also a firm voice against the arbitrary and unilateral measures imposed against Venezuela and Nicaragua, which affect the welfare of our peoples.”
Nicolás Maduro said, “We must win the battle of life and truth in the streets, networks, media, and walls, as well as in the conscience and spirituality of the people.” He also added the importance of the struggle of the people to be masters of their destiny without imperial impositions or impositions of any kind. In the same line of discourse, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said “From Nicaragua we reaffirm our commitment to ALBA. We will continue to fight the battle.”
The Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit stated “We congratulate the electoral triumph of President Nicolas Maduro on July 28. We wish him all the best…We also want to reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Cuba, a brave people for whom we have our greatest respect and love; we will never cease to lend our voice against the United States to eliminate the blockade against Cuba.”
Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, harshly criticized US interference in the development of the past Venezuelan elections “Perhaps [the US government] thinks it is superior,” he said in this regard. He also stressed that the creation of ALBA-TCP was a fundamental invention for the emancipation of the American people, “ALBA is the product of the geniuses of our peoples.”
Inclusion of Palestine to ALBA-TCP
At the current summit, it was announced that Palestine had been included as a “brotherly country” and was included as a “permanent guest”. According to the resolution of the Heads of State, ALBA-TCP condemns the attacks against the Palestinian population and the “illegally occupied territories” and rejects “the merciless and inhuman genocide committed by the State of Israel, the occupying power, as well as its plan of spoliation, invasion, and domination.” Likewise, they denounced the support of several governments currently collaborating with the actions of the Israeli army and called for an “immediate ceasefire…From the heart of the peoples and governments of this alliance, we declare Palestine a brother country of the ALBA-TCP, and reaffirm our commitment to the defense of the Palestinian cause, which is the defense of humanity,” reads the resolution.
In this regard, Riyad al-Malki, advisor to the President of State for International Affairs of Palestine said “History will remember those who stood on the side of justice, ALBA’s lasting solidarity with Palestine is a testimony of freedom and collective resistance.” Furthermore, Malki added “This Alliance is a living testimony of collective integration to challenge imperialism and ensure a just world. These values resonate with the Palestinian struggle, an end to the illegal occupation.”
A call for counter-hegemonic struggle
The joint document signed by all the countries highlights the historical importance of ALBA-TCP in the struggle for a more equitable world: “Twenty years after this giant step, we pay homage to the founding leaders, Hugo Chávez Frías and Fidel Castro Ruz, who adopted that December 14, 2004, in Havana, Cuba, the vision of the future embodied in the founding documents of ALBA, which have allowed us to walk united until the present, animated by the ancestral force that led our peoples to be free and that encourages us to continue integrated in this Alliance for Life.”
Similarly, it was stressed that the existence of this multilateral organization operates as a possibility to create a region that resists the impositions of the most developed countries: “Today, we want to ratify before our peoples, the counter-hegemonic, democratic, anti-imperialist and anti-fascist nature of our Alliance and renew our commitment to help and protect each other, to continue building together a future of shared goals under the founding principles of complementarity, cooperation, social justice, defense of our sovereignty and solidarity.”
In this sense, Luis Arce stressed that “In the face of the challenges of a world threatened by fascism and neo-fascism, ALBA is not an option, ALBA is a necessity that must continue with firm steps, reaffirming the founding principles of solidarity, justice, and cooperation…ALBA is not only an alliance, it is a promise for the future, a living resistance, an instrument for the most dispossessed, and a reminder that together, as peoples, we are invincible.”
Objectives and principles of ALBA-TCP
According to ALBA’s official website, the fundamental objective of the project is “to achieve integral development, ensure social equality and contribute to guaranteeing the quality of life, good living, independence, self-determination and identity of the peoples.” For this very reason, the principles of ALBA-TCP propose that political decisions be made horizontally and take into account the economic differences of its members without meaning that the importance of each of the members is underestimated.
The principles shared by the countries are “trade and investment should not be ends in themselves, but instruments to achieve sustainable development; special and differentiated treatment, according to the level of development of the various countries; economic complementarity and cooperation; cooperation and solidarity; the creation of the Social Emergency Fund; the integrative development of communications and transportation; the sustainability of development; energy integration; the promotion of investments of Latin American capital in the region; the defense of Latin American and Caribbean identity and culture; respect for intellectual property; and the agreement of multilateral positions and in negotiations with countries and blocs in other regions.”
Palestinians mourn over the bodies of civil defence workers victims of an Israeli army strike in the Nuseirat camp, at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, December 16, 2024
GAZA’S death toll from Israel’s 14-month attack has topped 45,000 people, health officials said today, as a United Nations-run school housing displaced people was targeted.
Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-run Ahmed bin Aziz School in southern Khan Younis on Sunday evening, killing at least 20 people, including six children.
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The Israeli military said that it had “conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control centre embedded within a compound” that had served as a school in Khan Younis.
It did not provide evidence.
The attack followed the targeting of a school in northern Beit Hanoon that killed 43 people and another on a civil defence site that killed Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed al-Louh and five rescue workers.
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Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 45,028 people have been killed since October 7 2023, in the besieged strip and 106,962 have been injured.
It said that the real toll could be significantly higher as thousands of bodies remain buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.
MPs show support for an immediate arms embargo outside parliamentPhoto: Jess Hurd
CROSS-PARTY MPs demanded action from the government today to put a halt to Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.
MPs debated petitions signed by over 100,000 people, calling for the immediate revocation of all arms export licences to Israel and 283,000 calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, which were delivered before the general election
Since last October, at least 45,000 in Gaza have been murdered by Israel, in which Britain has been complicit through supplying arms.
In September, the Labour government eventually banned 30 out of 361 licences in a move labelled “tokenistic” by campaigners.
During the debate, Labour MP John McDonnell said: “I think history will judge us all for not doing enough to stop this.”
The former shadow chancellor said that while he was pleased that the petition is taking place “there’s a level of frustration now I don’t think we can contain any more.”
He asked: “Why isn’t democracy being exercised here to stop this?”
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Pro-Palestinian activists from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by members of left-wing parties including People Before Profit and the Socialist Party and students, participate in the ‘National March for Palestine’ from the Garden of Remembrance to O’Connell Street and Leinster House, on May 18, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that.”
Ireland’s Taoiseach Simon Harris on Sunday responded to charges by the Israeli government—which earlier in the day shuttered its embassy in Dublin—by saying the Irish government has not been “anti-Israel” in its positions over the war in Gaza, but rather “pro-peace, pro-human rights, and pro-international law.”
In a statement explaining the official closure of the diplomatic outpost, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said the “decision to close the Israeli embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government.”
The ministry’s statement noted that “the Israeli ambassador in Dublin was returned to Israel at the time following Ireland’s decision to unilaterally recognize a ‘Palestinian state’,” which took place in May of this year.
Saar said Ireland had used “antisemitic rhetoric” against Israel, though did not specify what language he was referring to, and also accused the country of “crossing every red line in its relations with Israel.”
In addition to formally recognizing a Palestinian state, the government of Ireland has also backed South Africa in its genocide case against Israel, brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this year.
In his Sunday response to Israel’s decision, Harris said he was “deeply disappointed” in the move even as he “utterly rejected” Israeli assertions.
“Ireland’s foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes,” Harris said, adding that embassies worldwide “play a very important role” in maintaining that commitment.
“Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security,” he concluded. “Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that.”
In a separate reaction to Israel’s decision, Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, said there were no plans to retaliate diplomatically or reciprocate by closing the Irish embassy in Israel.
“The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law,” Martin said. “It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
“Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations,” he added. ” Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points.”
