Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades • Hacker News Board

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#11

Post by ars » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 9:51 AM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #4

ars wrote: post #2

It's interesting that even during the height of the recent Gaza war Israel maintained the Internet connections to Gaza. May increased communication and ventures like the article mention bring Gazans the democracy they desperately need.

Are you sure that the Internet connection to Gaza goes through Israel? I would have assumed that it's via Egypt instead, as Gaza has a land border there as well.

Yes, I'm sure. I would assume the connection is monitored, but it is not censored. (There is censoring done internally though.)

Egypt is not as technological as Israel, plus the border with Gaza is very very far from anything much in Egypt. It would take a lot of effort to bring Internet there.

Israel also provides phone service to Gaza, both via lines to local towers and via towers located in Israel.

People assume Egypt helps Gaza, but even in the Mubarak days they really didn't care about them much at all - just lip service. And certainly not today. They are not much different from the rest of the Arab world in this regard.

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#12

Post by ars » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 9:52 AM UTC

hrasyid wrote: post #5

pavlov wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure that the Internet connection to Gaza goes through Israel? I would have assumed that it's via Egypt instead, as Gaza has a land border there as well.

Yeah and the Egyptian regime is more interested in providing internet to Gazans than Israel? Actually, I'm curious, how does Gaza get its internet? Any source/reference mentioning this?

> Actually, I'm curious, how does Gaza get its internet?

As I said, it's via Israel. Same with phone service and postal mail.

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#13

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 9:58 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #2

It's interesting that even during the height of the recent Gaza war Israel maintained the Internet connections to Gaza. May increased communication and ventures like the article mention bring Gazans the democracy they desperately need.

[deleted]

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#14

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:00 AM UTC

aidos wrote: post #8

pete_b wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eygpt also has a blockade at its border with Gaza. Must be something to do with the terrorists that run Gaza, and were voted in by the populace.

I'm going to downvote you because my sarcasm meter isn't functioning properly this morning and your comment is going to end up derailing a useful piece on a promising new startup culture in Gaza.

[deleted]

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#15

Post by ars » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:02 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #10

aidos wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wikipedia page [0] claims that there are 4 ISPs providing internet in Gaza. I believe that in the case of electricity, Israel is obliged to provide power to the region under international law (since they control its borders). [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

Not to get too political\opinionated but Israel does not have a particularly strong reputation for respecting international laws regarding Palestine (West Bank or Gaza) which makes it even more surprising if they continued to supply power.

> which makes it even more surprising if they continued to supply power.

You don't understand Israel at all. It would be surprising if they didn't supply power.

Israel doesn't hate Gazans, they just want Gazans to stop attacking them. They pulled out of Gaza to give them less of a reason to hate Israel, but that didn't work.

Israel has little interest in giving them a country, it is true. But not because they want to deny them a county but because they don't think it will help. After all pulling out of Gaza did not help - in fact it made it worse.

Israel doesn't care about the UN because the UN is utterly obsessed with Israel, and essentially they don't consider the UN legitimate in this regard because of that obsession. Most of the world considers the UN a joke for exactly this reason (plus things like allowing known human right abusing countries to chair human rights commissions).

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#16

Post by frozenport » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:04 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #10

aidos wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wikipedia page [0] claims that there are 4 ISPs providing internet in Gaza. I believe that in the case of electricity, Israel is obliged to provide power to the region under international law (since they control its borders). [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

Not to get too political\opinionated but Israel does not have a particularly strong reputation for respecting international laws regarding Palestine (West Bank or Gaza) which makes it even more surprising if they continued to supply power.

Does this change your opinion?

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#17

Post by ars » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:04 AM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #14

aidos wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to downvote you because my sarcasm meter isn't functioning properly this morning and your comment is going to end up derailing a useful piece on a promising new startup culture in Gaza.

[deleted]

It's extremely easy to keep Israel from bombing Gaza: Don't launch rockets at Israel.

Now presumably not all the residents of Gaza want to kill Israel, but enough do, and the rest suffer because of them (and because of the leaders they chose in their one and only election).

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#18

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:16 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #17

[deleted] wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

It's extremely easy to keep Israel from bombing Gaza: Don't launch rockets at Israel. Now presumably not all the residents of Gaza want to kill Israel, but enough do, and the rest suffer because of them (and because of the leaders they chose in their one and only election).

[deleted]

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#19

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:17 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #17

[deleted] wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

It's extremely easy to keep Israel from bombing Gaza: Don't launch rockets at Israel. Now presumably not all the residents of Gaza want to kill Israel, but enough do, and the rest suffer because of them (and because of the leaders they chose in their one and only election).

[deleted]

Re: Wireless in Gaza: the young entrepreneurs beating the blockades

#20

Post by aidos » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:19 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #17

[deleted] wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

It's extremely easy to keep Israel from bombing Gaza: Don't launch rockets at Israel. Now presumably not all the residents of Gaza want to kill Israel, but enough do, and the rest suffer because of them (and because of the leaders they chose in their one and only election).

Look, I have very strong views on the subject. It's the political area I've delved deepest into in my life. I've read untold articles and numerous books on the subject.

This is not the time or place for raising the political issues. I'm keeping my political opinions out of it on this forum and I wish everyone else would have the good sense do the same.

If there's ever an article about Gaza on the front page of HN it's removed within a couple of hours because people start banging on about politics. I could quite happy argue about it all day long, but not here, and not now.