ps: Nablus’ online link to the world

The internet is a vital source of contact for businesses, families and lovers living with the daily difficulties of Israeli occupation in the West Bank city, reports Clare Simon of The GuardianThis is a tale of two cities. The first is Nablus in the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian territories, a city of picturesque ancient buildings and winding alleyways – and fierce resistance to the Israeli presence. The second is virtual Nablus – a city of monitors, keyboards and cables where the residents of Nablus can experience a freedom they do not enjoy in real life.”Without the internet I would die,” says 29-year-old Mahmoud, a journalism student at Nablus’s An-Najah National University. Last year he tried to visit the United States, but the Israeli authorities would not let him leave the West Bank.”I had a visa for the US but when I got to the bridge [the Allenby Bridge over the River Jordan to Jordan; Palestinians usually cannot enter Israel so travel via Jordan] the Israelis said I couldn’t go out.”Mahmoud is establishing an arts project near his home in Balata refugee camp but his American co-founder has been denied entry to Israel, and therefore the occupied territories, by the Israeli authorities. So now the pair conduct business meetings via the internet, using Skype, Microsoft Messenger and email.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/04/guardianweeklytechnologysection.internet