Sheikh Jarrah activists say Israel pressuring Twitter to block them
Twitter and Instagram recently blocked and suspended the accounts of several activists covering the recent events in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, with Palestinians accusing Israel of being behind this campaign.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Sada Social, a Palestinian youth initiative aimed to confront challenges to the Palestinian cause on social media, has condemned Twitter for shutting down dozens of accounts of activists covering the attacks by the Israeli army in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem.
The accounts were using the #SaveSheikhJarrah hashtag, in both English and Arabic. The May 6 statement demanded the reactivation of the 70 suspended accounts and for all users to be allowed to express solidarity on Twitter without discrimination.
On May 8, Sada Social also condemned Instagram for removing the hashtag #Al-Aqsa as many users were posting about it. The group also said the account of activist Muna al-Kurd was suspended.
Sada Social said it found 38 violations against Palestinian content on social media during the month of April. It said there were 1,200 in total in 2020.
