Palestine Online

In the wake of the Arab spring of 2011, more and more emphasis has been placed on the role of the internet in the Middle East, and for Palestine's diaspora and exiled commu-nities it has become an important medium for the formation of Palestinian national and transnational identity. Here, Miriyam Aouragh looks at the internet as both a space and an instrument for linking Palestinian diasporas in Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. She closely examines the uses and limits of internet technology under conditions of war, along with the ways in which virtual participation enables the generation of new ideals for political reconciliation and self-determination. Through the internet, participants reconstruct a vir­tual 'Palestinian homeland', gaining a space for recovering the past, for overcoming issues of mobility, and for generating social change. Palestine Online thus provides a new angle on those affected by the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and furthers understanding about the connection between electronic media, politics and national identity more widely.