This Week in Palestine- Digital Horizons: Entrepreneurship and Economic Resilience

Issue: 331, February 2026

This rendering of the sunbird, Palestine’s national bird, copyrighted by Paltrade, was chosen to represent high-tech export. 

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO see art or read good articles or quotes  IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

https://thisweekinpalestine.com/331-Feb-2026/ 

Palestine painting by Mohammed Jabr, an artist from Gaza https://thisweekinpalestine.com/mohammed-jabr/

Message from the Editor

The war in Gaza is continuing unabated despite the so-called ceasefire, as tens of Gazans are killed on a daily basis. Yet the world has turned to other hotspots, emerging due to a resurgence of imperialist colonialism – or is it simply gaining greater visibility as it is not confined to more distant areas? And while many of us feel helpless in the wake of events and our inability to end the aggression against Gaza and the West Bank, there is one way in which we can make a difference: through the outsourcing of business services that include software development, business management, finance and accounting, and marketing. When internet and electricity are available, a skilled, resilient, and adaptable workforce of Palestinian young professionals and recent graduates can support businesses abroad. At the same time, their resilience can be strengthened as they are enabled to earn livelihoods for themselves and their families.   

This issue of TWiP highlights organizations that support Palestinian professionals by facilitating online work opportunities. We hope that this exposure will not only create visibility but also encourage greater engagement from abroad in this invaluable resource for our people who, while persevering under great hardship – unimaginable in the case of Gaza – excel in ways that might be unanticipated for many.... READ MORE  https://thisweekinpalestine.com/message-from-the-editor-331/

Table of Contents

https://thisweekinpalestine.com/table-of-contents-331/

 

From Aid to Agency

Building an Investment Ecosystem for Palestinian Innovation

By Sharareh Noorbaloochi

Humanitarian aid remains indispensable. In moments of acute crisis, it saves lives and preserves dignity. But aid alone cannot rebuild economies, restore agency, or create long-term self-reliance. For that, investment is also essential. Not symbolic investment, and not charity framed as capital, but structured, accountable investment that treats Palestinian founders as builders on equal terms. 

The highest form of solidarity is not donation. It is investment on equal terms, with shared risk, shared upside, and shared accountability. For impact-focused investors and ecosystem enablers, this approach shifts engagement from supporting activity to building durable systems grounded in ownership, incentives, and long-term alignment. 

Why Success Stories Matter
Venture capital follows a power-law dynamic: A small number of successful companies generate the majority of returns. For emerging ecosystems, building even a handful of investable success stories can unlock follow-on capital, talent retention, and long-term economic momentum.

Innovation does not thrive in isolation. It scales when talent, capital, and markets are connected through a functioning investment ecosystem. In deeply fragmented contexts, entrepreneurship can also serve as a unifying force. It creates shared incentives where politics often divides, and measurable value where rhetoric alone cannot. When paired with the right capital structures, innovation becomes a practical tool for rebuilding systems, restoring livelihoods, and creating durable pathways to growth... READ MORE https://thisweekinpalestine.com/from-aid-to-agency/

The Palestinian Diaspora

A Strategic Asset for the Tech Sector

By Feras Nasr

The Palestinian diaspora refers to the large community of Palestinians living outside historic Palestine, forming transnational networks connected to their homeland. Currently, nearly 8 million Palestinians live outside historic Palestine, with the majority residing in the Middle East and around 1 million living in North and South America and the Far East. Despite decades of displacement, the Palestinian diaspora continues to maintain close ties to its homeland and plays a significant role in preserving Palestinian national identity while providing social, cultural, and economic support. 

Know Thy Heritage Diaspora Conference 2025.

Members of the Palestinian diaspora have achieved notable successes across various fields and have been advocates of the Palestinian cause around the world. Names include Edward Said in academia, Rashida Tlaib in politics, Amer Zaher and Mo Amer in arts and culture, and the Hadid family in fashion. As entrepreneurs and business executives, Palestinians have created enormous value with well-known leaders such as Talal Abu Ghazaleh, Elia Nuqul, Farouk Shami, Samer Khoury, Ibrahim Dabdoub, and others who have founded and led multinational enterprises. 

In addition to these well-known figures, the Palestinian diaspora includes countless individuals who provide vital support and solidarity to their homeland... READ MORE https://thisweekinpalestine.com/the-palestinian-diaspora/

 * Know Thy Heritage Leadership Program empowers Palestinian youth in the Diaspora by strengthening their knowledge of their Palestinian identity, culture, history, traditions, as well as their understanding of the Palestinian economic environment, political landscape, social structures and conditions.  https://www.kthps.org/

 

UpScrolled

Born from Resistance, Built for Digital Sovereignty

Courtesy of UpScrolled

We’re living in a world where mainstream social media platforms are actively suppressing voices that aren’t toeing the line. Freedom of speech has become monetized, colonized, and villainized. When an expression of solidarity or critical thinking results in users being shadowbanned, marginalized, or cancelled, the premise of real connection and human engagement turns into empty slogans and hollow promises. 

The throttling of Palestinian voices and the online deletion of the Palestinian struggle has made this undeniable. For over a year, independent journalists documenting Gaza have watched their reach collapse overnight. Accounts that built audiences over years suddenly couldn’t reach their own followers. Posts with verified footage were buried while misinformation circulated freely. They simply made it invisible. 

Founder of UpScrolled, Issam Hijazi, at Web Summit Qatar 2026.

UpScrolled was launched in 2024 by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist, with support from Tech for Palestine. The creation of UpScrolled was an act of resistance and solidarity. If a platform cannot advocate for everyone, then it becomes a mouthpiece for its billionaire founders’ agendas and just another place to gatekeep truth and determine what discourse does or does not have value... READ MORE  https://thisweekinpalestine.com/upscrolled/

PALESTINE PAINFULLY BEAUTIFUL

By Patricio Hales  https://thisweekinpalestine.com/palestine-painfully-beautiful/

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO see art or read good articles or quotes  IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

SEIZED, SETTLED, LET: How Airbnb and Booking.com help Israelis make money from stolen Palestinian land... "Businesses should not enable, facilitate, or profit from serious violations of international law."

"By operating in settlements, multinational companies including Booking.com and Airbnb are violating international law, human rights activists warn. Booking.com and Airbnb are among 16 non-Israeli companies identified by the UN as having ties to Israeli settlements in the West Bank."

As Israel deploys tanks in the West Bank for the first time in 20 years, we reveal how two of the world’s biggest travel companies are helping settlers commercialise stolen land

Zeke Hunter-Green, Carmen Aguilar García, Anna Leach, Mark Townsend, Pamela Duncan and Prina Shah

Thu 27 Feb 2025 03.00 EST

Last modified on Thu 27 Feb 2025 09.10 EST

The villa is stunning. The private swimming pool; the lush, landscaped terrace with firepit; the long dining table with its expansive balcony view; the pingpong table; the piano.

But the jewel in the crown, according to the Airbnb listing, is the experience of watching the sun rise over the nearby mountains from the luxury of the generous master bedroom.

The villa with views of the Judean mountains is in a settlement located on land seized from Palestinians and considered illegal under international humanitarian law.

Only a handful of Palestinians are allowed to enter this, and other, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, usually as labourers with special permits.

Exclusive analysis carried out by the Guardian found 760 rooms being advertised in hotels, apartments and other holiday rentals in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on two of the world’s most popular tourism websites.

Taken together, the listings that appear on either Airbnb or Booking.com could host more than 2,000 people as of August 2024. The villa was just one of them.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/feb/27/seized-settled-let-how-airbnb-and-bookingcom-help-israelis-make-money-from-stolen-palestinian-land

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine ]

Palestine for a New Beginning by Zahi Khouri

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=4170&ed=226&edid=226

 The unemployment and under-employment faced in our country does not bode well for our future. We are failing to prepare our youth to lead us into the next generation. This is not a problem that will be solved only by our government leaders, but it requires all aspects of our society to help, including and quite importantly, the private sector. Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB) brings together some of the largest private-sector entities in Palestine - Paltel Group, Bank of Palestine, PADICO HOLDING, Wataniya Mobile, Consolidated Contractors Company, the National Beverage Company - to form a dynamic network that supports and facilitates both innovation and entrepreneurship. We believe that the private sector needs to encourage the creativity of young innovators, and that by injecting new ideas into a stagnant economy, we can hopefully decrease the number of unemployed youth and contribute to healthy economic growth.

For this reason we have put our resources, both human and financial, to work. As members of PNB, we organise the annual Celebration of Innovation (COI), a national competition of ideas and entrepreneurs. Each year, approximately 300 guests, including leading local and regional private-sector leaders and angel investors, listen to young entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas. Even those who don’t win often gain access to mentors and investors who offer their support.

One of our first-year winners, Ahmad Ramahi, went on to participate in the Stars of Science show on MBC, taking his invention, iSurface, to a regional level. Ahmad has also represented Palestinian entrepreneurs at the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Last year, we selected five more winners, including Independent Wind, a team that aims to bring the first large-scale wind farm to Palestine, which would help reduce our dependence on Israeli energy resources; and Al Okhwah Farm in Beit Furiq, outside of Nablus, which will hopefully soon be the first organic sheep farm in Palestine. 
 
Our support for the winners of the COI has not been without challenges...READ MORE

  *** 

This Week in Palestine January 2014

     Message From the Editor

I cannot help but think that publishing an entire issue on Innovative Palestine that clearly has an IT/technology flavour is, well, funny, infuriating, ironic, and ridiculous...READ MORE

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Systems in Palestine National Strategies and Policies
  By Hasan Omar

 
• Palestine for a New Beginning
  By Zahi Khouri

 
• Environmental Innovation Reviving Environmental Consciousness in Palestine
  By Muna Dajani and Sami Backleh

 
• The Palestinian Interoperability Framework “Zinnar”
  By Safa Nasser Eldin

 
• iT is Hard to Memorize..easy to Innovate
  By Aref Husseini

 
• Tackling Youth Unemployment by Engaging Palestine’s Diaspora
  By Hashim Shawa

 
• Learning Innovation The Palestinian Learning Objects Bank The Result of Thinking Outside the Box
  By Marwan Tarazi

Book of the Month
Mediterranean Cultural Heritage, a Manual for Good Practice

Mediterranean Cultural Heritage, a Manual for Good Practice: A Euromed Heritage Experience

 

 

Time for honesty about dialogue with Israel... There’s a healthy alternative to the hypocrisy of engaging Israel privately while condemning "normalization” publicly

Hussein Ibish is a Senior Fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP). He is a regular contributor to many American and Middle Eastern publications.

"Arabs and Israelis need to deal with each other, and all serious people in both societies know it."

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/523688-time-for-honesty-about-dialogue-with-israel

A November 19 Thomas Friedman column that mentioned that Israeli President Shimon Peres had addressed a Gulf security conference in Abu Dhabi via satellite, and that in the audience were numerous Arab and Muslim foreign ministers, at first went relatively unnoticed.

Several days later, Middle Eastern media bubbled with conspiratorial and shocking reports of a "secret speech" given by Peres to leading Arab and Muslim diplomats.

As everyone who doesn't live inside a warm cocoon of willful ignorance knows, the Arabs and Israel are in constant contact. They talk about everything from security to trade, intelligence to diplomacy.

Even its supposedly most implacable foes, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Syrian regime and, yes, Iran, are always in touch – somehow or another – with Israel.

One can have sympathy for Arab officials who may wish to keep these contacts discreet and even secret. They are understandably concerned about public opinion that is primed to misinterpret these contacts as untoward "normalization" rather than the normative reality in the Middle East....READ MORE