Spare a thought for Israel. It must be tough being the Middle East’s only democracy, always looking for ways to lower the bar. It thought it had it sorted, especially given how the Palestinians had spent the last decade bogged down with in-fighting. All very conveniently changing the conversation from the question of an illegal military occupation by a nuclear-armed nation to the non-existence of a partner for peace. Etcetera. Etcetera. And then lo and behold the Palestinians only went and scuppered the status quo by having the audacity to from a national unity government. Indeed, just this week both Fatah and Hamas have vowed to press ahead as intended with these plans and to heck with American and Israeli demands that this be dependent upon Hamas disarming. This may or may not explain why this week has also seen the Jewish state shut down eight Palestinian media outlets in the West Bank. The Israelis would have the world believe that they had no option, that their hands were tied; that the Palestinian media had been abusing its position to incite violence against them. If only it were as simple as bringing to an end the 50-year-long illegal military occupation of someone else’s land as a first step towards taking responsibility for one’s own national security. Oh, wait. This was, perhaps, to be expected, in terms of Israeli attempts to control the narrative coming out of its hood. Indeed, when social media made its way to the Palestinian territories many were jubilant. For it was supposed to be the great democratic equaliser; the only means of getting out the truth as it happens right there on the ground to the outside world. Which is why the Jewish state is said to have spent most of 2016 arm-twisting Facebook into removing much Palestinian content, on the dubious grounds of it being ‘inflammatory’. Indeed, this time last year, the American social media giant blocked the accounts of up to six Palestinian editors. And though no reason was offered — many pointed to the recent agreement between Facebook and Tel Aviv aimed at tackling incitement. Which begs the question: whose incitement? Meaning that the real cause of this is, of course, the presence of military checkposts, the illegal detentions, the non-freedom of movement of people in their own land, the illegal settlement project — not those who do the reporting and not those who take to social media to share their experiences. This is not to ignore the harassment of Palestinian reporters by both Fatah and Hamas in the recent past. But it is a gentle reminder that the greater burden of responsibility lies with the occupying power; and absolutely so when this happens to be the region’s only so-called democracy. And to those who are irked about Putin’s plans to maintain a military base in Syria for the next 50 years — we urge a little perspective; a Palestinian perspective. * Published in Daily Times, October 20th 2017.