Welcome to “concentration camp” Gaza, where many seem to be concentrating on Zionist Death Porn.TM
The ministry of communications of the Hamas government in Gaza announced on Thursday it would block access to pornographic websites starting in September, the Ma’an news agency reported.
Gaza communications minister Osama al-Issawi (ly hotwomen) explained that the move was meant to protect Palestinian society and preserve the fabric of society in the Gaza Strip.
Ministry licensing head Kamal (“toe”) al-Masr said they the authorities had asked the 10 main Internet providers operating in Gaza to block the sites from Sept. 1, after a government decision a week earlier.
Any violations of the decision will be punished under Palestinian communications and penal (abuse) law, he added.
In 2008, the Gaza government announced the Palestinian telecommunications provider would begin blocking adult content.
Testing by the Canada- and US-based university coalition Open Net Initiative shortly afterward showed PalTel had implemented filtering of sexually explicit websites in Gaza.
But al-Masr said the government was only now responding to complaints from parents and teachers. He stressed that the ministry itself is not blocking the sites, but asking ISPs to implement safe content standards used “internationally”.
This is not the first time that the Hamas government carries out controversial decisions that infringe upon individual freedoms. In the past Gazan women were prevented from smoking hookahs in public or ride on motorcycles. The Hamas police have even arrested women caught breaking the laws.
Yep. First they clamped down on smoking hookahs and public riding, and now they’ve clamped down on smoking hot hookers and…need I say it?
UPDATE from Brian of London: and of course, who can ever forget when “Gaza Strip” was a cheesy headline for a Gentleman’s magazine photo shoot?
