Palestinians Get Internet Designation

Palestinians will get their independence in cyberspace before they get a country of their own.

A separate Internet domain name for Palestinian Web sites won approval Wednesday, the same day Pope John Paul II said the Palestinians have suffered long enough and should have a "natural right to a homeland." The pontiff was visiting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The Internet designation means Palestinian Web sites could begin using their own suffix, "ps," the same way Israelis have used "il" for years. The two-letter country codes are similar to the function of "com" in Internet addresses.

The U.S. Commerce Department approved the new suffix hours after a recommendation from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a newly established private group overseeing the world's Internet address system. The U.S. government, traditionally in charge of Internet naming policies, is in the process of switching those duties to ICANN.

ICANN's recommendation was based in part on decisions by the United Nations and a world standards organization to create a separate code for Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The designation is not meant as a recognition of Palestinian statehood, but foreign-policy implications may be unavoidable. The Palestinians are seeking the creation of an independent state.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and a strong supporter of Israel, said the Internet board should have waited while Palestinians' status remains in dispute. "There's no reason to give anybody recognition before it is earned and certified," he said.

But Yaser Doleh, a Warwick, N.Y., software engineer who sought the suffix on behalf of the Palestinians, said the Internet was no place for politics. The use of "ps," he said, was more to help Internet users from the Palestinian territory know when a company is local.

The new suffix takes effect as soon as it is entered into a master computer and copied into directories around the world. It is the first addition to the master list of suffixes since ICANN began taking over the naming function in 1998.

More than 200 country codes exist. Most are for independent countries, and some island territories have separate codes. Antarctica has a code as well.