West Bank telecom authorities flounder in flood of Israeli phone tech

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hundreds of contraband Israeli SIM cards have been seized at the Palestinian border in the past three months. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Customs Police announced Oct. 8 that it had seized 110 cards in Jericho, south of the West Bank. On Oct. 5, 380 cards were seized in Hebron. On Sept. 24, 200 cards were seized in Nablus in the north. The biggest seizure took place Aug. 20, when 2,200 SIM cards and prepaid-phone cards were confiscated in Nablus.

The use of Israeli SIM cards in the Palestinian territory has increased due to the technology gap with neighboring countries, as Israel dominates communications. While Israeli companies provide 4G services to their customers, Palestinian companies only provide 2G services.