How Palestinian authorities plan to clamp down on cybercrime
The establishment of a cybercrime task force in Palestine aims to deter e-crimes, which many Palestinians are falling victim to and are not reporting to the police out of fear and intimidation.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On Jan. 2, Palestinian Authority (PA) Attorney General Ahmed Barak issued a decision to commission members of the Public Prosecution to start operating the Cybercrime Task Force in preparation for the issuance of the Cybercrime Law, which is expected to be passed in the first half of the year.
The law would address all forms of electronic crimes, in light of the recent high number of cybercrimes in Palestine. Per Palestinian police statistics in Ramallah, 2016 witnessed more than 1,200 cybercrimes compared to 520 in 2015, according to officer Louay Azriqat, the spokesman for the Palestinian police in Ramallah.
