Why do Palestinians opt for Israeli SIM cards?
Due to the poor quality of Palestinian cellular companies that are crippled by Israeli restrictions, Palestinians in the West Bank are opting for Israeli SIM cards provided by illegal Israeli mobile network operators.
After signing the 1995 Oslo II agreement, Israel handed over the responsibilities of the Palestinian telecommunications infrastructure to the Palestinian Authority (PA) but granted itself total control of the Palestinian frequency spectrum in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Palestinians have repeatedly asked for the termination of this agreement, which was supposed to expire in 1999, but an Israeli approval remains in order.
Al-Monitor secured a copy of a Sept. 25 document published by Paltel Group, the largest Palestinian telecommunications company. According to the document, eight Israeli cellular companies currently operate illegally in the Palestinian territories, accounting for 17% of the Palestinian market, with 600,000 Israeli SIM cards used by Palestinians. This figure, according to the document, is set to rise to 1 million by 2020.
Chief among the Israeli cellular companies operating illegally in the Palestinian territories are Bezeq, Orange, Cellcom, Motorola and Pelephone.
