Facebook Blocked to Shut out Israeli Groups

Syrian government media advisor Buthaina Shaban says the social networking site Facebook has been blocked in the country in order to prevent Israeli organisations communicating with Syrian users.



“The website was open to everybody at first, but then we discovered that Israeli groups were attempting to open dialogue with Syrian users, which we don’t allow because we refuse direct dialogue with them,” she said at a meeting with a delegation from the London-based British-Syrian Society last week.



Meanwhile, the pro-government website Syria News removed a detailed report about the British delegation’s meeting with Shaban the day after it was posted on the site, with a note to readers explaining that the conversation had been private and should not have been covered.