Fatah: US embassy helped reinstate our Facebook page
“On Feb. 26, [2017], the Facebook company closed the page of the Fatah Movement, claiming that it transgressed Facebook’s regulations. The following day it reinstated the page, claiming that it was just a mistake. It should be noted that it had already removed the page - which has over 70,000 followers - more than once during the last six months. Head of Information at the Fatah Commission of Mobilization and Organization Munir Radi Al-Jaghoub, 41, who is responsible for the page, reported to the [Palestinian] Center [for Development and Media Freedoms] MADA that ‘For nearly six months the Facebook administration has been banning [the activity of] those responsible for posting pictures (the administrators) [parentheses in source] on the Fatah Movement page, which has over 70,000 followers. The ban continued a number of days, and the pictures they (i.e., Facebook) mean are, for example, pictures of Martyrs (Shahids).’
He added: ‘On Feb. 16, [2017], we posted an old picture of [former] President Yasser Arafat, and next to him leadership member Mahmoud Al-Aloul (current Fatah Deputy Chairman and Fatah –Ed.), as he examines a Kalashnikov weapon that belonged to an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped in Beirut in the 1980s. This is an old picture that has already been posted on the page more than once. Likewise, at the same time a picture of Martyr (Shahid) [Qusai] Al-Amour, masked and with a rock in his hand, was also posted. Ten days later, on Feb. 26, [2017,] we were surprised to receive a letter from the Facebook administration informing us of the closure of the page, claiming a transgression of Facebook’s regulations, and every one of the page’s administrators was distanced [from Facebook] for 30 days.
Al-Jaghoub said: ‘I contacted the international media, and then I received a call from the American embassy, which got involved and resolved the problem with the Facebook administration, and the page returned to action on Monday evening, Feb. 27, and they apologized and explained that what happened was a mistake.’”
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Note: The US State Department has "firmly" denied intervening with Facebook on Fatah's behalf.
Qusai Al-Amour – a 17-year-old Palestinian rioter who threw rocks at an Israeli border police officer during violent clashes with the Israeli army near the village of Tuqu’ next to Bethlehem on Jan. 16, 2017. The officer responded by shooting and wounding Al-Amour with small metal Ruger bullets, which are considered to be non-lethal and meant for crowd dispersal. Al-Amour later died of his wounds.
He added: ‘On Feb. 16, [2017], we posted an old picture of [former] President Yasser Arafat, and next to him leadership member Mahmoud Al-Aloul (current Fatah Deputy Chairman and Fatah –Ed.), as he examines a Kalashnikov weapon that belonged to an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped in Beirut in the 1980s. This is an old picture that has already been posted on the page more than once. Likewise, at the same time a picture of Martyr (Shahid) [Qusai] Al-Amour, masked and with a rock in his hand, was also posted. Ten days later, on Feb. 26, [2017,] we were surprised to receive a letter from the Facebook administration informing us of the closure of the page, claiming a transgression of Facebook’s regulations, and every one of the page’s administrators was distanced [from Facebook] for 30 days.
Al-Jaghoub said: ‘I contacted the international media, and then I received a call from the American embassy, which got involved and resolved the problem with the Facebook administration, and the page returned to action on Monday evening, Feb. 27, and they apologized and explained that what happened was a mistake.’”
Click to view bulletin
Note: The US State Department has "firmly" denied intervening with Facebook on Fatah's behalf.
Qusai Al-Amour – a 17-year-old Palestinian rioter who threw rocks at an Israeli border police officer during violent clashes with the Israeli army near the village of Tuqu’ next to Bethlehem on Jan. 16, 2017. The officer responded by shooting and wounding Al-Amour with small metal Ruger bullets, which are considered to be non-lethal and meant for crowd dispersal. Al-Amour later died of his wounds.
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