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Palestine

Tier 3

Everything a marketer needs before entering Palestine: economy, platforms, ad rules, payments and audience.

Economy & income

1 USD = 3.04 ILS live rate
Currency
  • Israeli new shekel (ILS, ₪) is the main currency
  • Jordanian dinar (JOD) also used in the West Bank for savings/large deals and USD widely accepted
  • no Palestinian currency. ~3.0 ₪ per USD (Jul 14 2026; shekel strengthened over 2025-26)
GDP per capita
  • ~$2,600 nominal (2024, PCBS — fell ~28% in the war year, back to ~2009 levels)
  • ~$4,371 PPP (2024, World Bank)
  • Pre-war 2023 was ~$3,255
Average salary
  • gross avg ~₪3,200/mo (~$1,050; wage.is 2026) — but a huge West Bank vs Gaza gap
  • PCBS avg daily wage ~₪140 in West Bank, collapsed in Gaza
  • net lower (income tax modest)
Median salary
  • n/a — no official median published
  • pay skews low with a long tail, and the post-Oct-2023 war (Gaza unemployment ~80%, West Bank ~35%) makes any single figure unreliable
Minimum wage
  • ₪1,880/mo (~$625) — national minimum since Jan 2023 (West Bank formal private sector)
  • weakly enforced, and effectively void in war-hit Gaza
Cost of living
  • Low–Medium. Numbeo data for Palestine is very thin (small, unreliable sample) — flag as indicative only
  • prices are moderate but incomes are far lower and volatile

Digital landscape

Population
5.61 million (Oct 2025, DataReportal; PCBS mid-2025 est. ~5.5M) — median age just 20.1 yrs, 78.3% urban
Internet users
86.6% (~4.86M users, Oct 2025) — but Gaza's telecom infrastructure was heavily destroyed in the war, so real access is far lower there
Social media users
41.0% (~2.30M identities, Oct 2025; 52.2% male) — 73.2% of adults 18+
Mobile connections
4.39M cellular connections = 78.1% of pop (down ~1% YoY)
Devices
mobile ~72.3% / desktop ~27.3% / tablet ~0.4% (StatCounter, Jun 2026)
Ad spend
  • n/a — DataReportal Digital 2026 Palestine publishes no ad-spend figure
  • the market is small, war-disrupted and Meta-led, with most spend flowing to Facebook/Instagram
Top social platforms
Facebook ~2.30M / 41.0% — dominant; ~96% of social web-visit share
Instagram ~1.85M / 33.0%
Messenger ~1.85M / 33.0%
Snapchat ~1.69M / 30.1% — strong youth
TikTok ~552K adults 18+; reported YoY drop may be a data correction
LinkedIn ~520K / 9.3%
Messengers
  • WhatsApp (dominant, near-universal for chat & business)
  • Facebook Messenger (~1.85M reach)
  • Telegram (news/groups)
  • Instagram Direct
  • Snapchat (youth messaging)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Restricted

RESTRICTED — legal grey area: forbidden under Islamic norms, no licensed operators and no specific online-gambling statute; offshore sites are reachable and enforcement is essentially nil, but promoting gambling is culturally taboo

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — not legal tender; the Palestine Monetary Authority has warned against crypto and issued no licensing framework, so it is virtually absent formally, though informal P2P/USDT use exists as a workaround to banking limits

Adult Banned

BANNED — conservative Muslim society; pornographic content is not tolerated, blocked/prosecutable, and adult ads are unacceptable in mainstream channels

Dating Restricted

RESTRICTED — mainstream apps are reachable but socially sensitive in a conservative society; creatives must avoid explicit imagery and casual-hookup framing

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — banks, lending, microfinance and payments are licensed and supervised by the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA); disclosure rules apply; BNPL is nascent

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — medicines and health products require Ministry of Health registration; therapeutic/medical ad claims are controlled

Regulators
  • Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA — banking, payments, crypto)
  • Ministry of Health (pharma/nutra)
  • Ministry of Telecom & IT and Ministry of Information (media/content/telecoms)
  • Ministry of National Economy
Notes
  • Conservative, majority-Muslim, and operating under occupation with a severe West Bank/Gaza split after the Oct-2023 war
  • Politics (the conflict/occupation, Fatah–Hamas factions), religion, alcohol/pork, nudity and LGBT themes are highly sensitive
  • Enforcement is uneven and infrastructure (esp. Gaza) is disrupted
  • Arabic (Levantine dialect) creative is essential.

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods
  • Cash / cash-on-delivery — ~95% of all transactions are cash (COD is the e-commerce default)
  • Bank transfer / Bank of Palestine online gateway
  • Visa & Mastercard debit/credit (limited card penetration)
  • Mobile wallets (JawwalPay, PalPay)
E-wallets
  • JawwalPay (National Electronic Payments Co.; for the unbanked, QR pay, shopping cards)
  • PalPay 'Mahfazti' (Bank of Palestine; first Palestinian digital wallet)
  • Bank of Palestine app / Reflect
Cash on delivery
Very high — cash dominates (~95% of transactions) and COD is the most-trusted method for online orders
E-commerce
  • Low — cash-heavy, thin card penetration, no native PayPal/Stripe support, plus occupation- and war-related logistics constraints
  • much of 'e-commerce' is social commerce via Facebook/Instagram shops
Notes
  • PMA is pushing to cut cash: Decree-Law No. 4 of 2026 bans cash for transactions over ₪30,000 and mandates electronic settlement (fines 5–15%)
  • Remittances and diaspora transfers matter
  • Wallet adoption is rising but still limited
  • international gateway integration is the main bottleneck

Audience & culture

Languages
  • Arabic (official, near-universal; Palestinian/Levantine dialect)
  • Hebrew (understood by many, esp. workers in Israel & East Jerusalem)
  • English (education & business)
Religion
  • Muslim ~93–98% (predominantly Sunni; Gaza ~99%)
  • Christian ~1–2.5% (Greek Orthodox, Catholic — concentrated around Bethlehem/Ramallah)
  • tiny Samaritan community
Median age
20.1 years (DataReportal, Oct 2025) — one of the youngest populations in the region
Key seasons
  • Ramadan (fasting month — late-night social/TV spikes)
  • Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha (gifting, apparel)
  • Christmas & New Year (Christian areas, esp. Bethlehem)
  • Back-to-school (Aug–Sep)
  • Olive harvest (autumn — cultural, national identity)
Cultural notes
  • Very young, mobile-first and intensely politically engaged, with a strong national identity and 'buy-Palestinian'/solidarity sentiment
  • Facebook is unusually dominant (~96% of social web visits) — Meta-first funnels win
  • Big diaspora and remittance ties
  • Conservative family norms
  • modest creative performs best.
Where to find creators
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • StarNgage / HypeAuditor rankings

Media landscape

Top media outlets

  1. 1 Al-Quds (القدس) Arabic; largest-circulation Palestinian daily newspaper (est. 1967)
  2. 2 Al-Ayyam (الأيام) Arabic; major independent daily newspaper
  3. 3 WAFA (Palestinian News & Info Agency) Arabic/English/French; official state news agency
  4. 4 Ma'an News Agency Arabic/English; leading independent news agency & portal
  5. 5 Palestine TV (PBC) Arabic; state broadcaster / official narrative
  6. 6 Quds News Network (QNN) Arabic; hugely popular youth social-media news network

Top YouTube channels

  1. 1 Fozi Mozi (kids) ~11M
  2. 2 الإخوة الأربعة عبد العال (Four Brothers Abdel Aal — Gaza) ~1.18M
  3. 3 حامد المنسي (Hamed Mansi) ~1.07M
  4. 4 تراث (Turath) ~611K
  5. 5 Wafa Agency ~510K
  6. 6 Montamy Abu Arab (comedy, Bethlehem) ~476K

Creators & public figures

Top creators

L
Leana Deeb ~18M across platforms (TikTok largest)
TikTok/InstagramModest fitness & wellness (hijabi) — Gymshark collab; Time100 Creators 2025, Forbes 30U30 2026; strong activewear/beauty brand fit
Yousef Erakat (FouseyTube) ~10M YouTube
YouTubePranks, vlogs & comedy — Palestinian-American; broad Gen-Z reach
S
Subhi Taha ~1.6M Instagram
InstagramPalestinian-Filipino creator — narrative/lifestyle & advocacy content in English
F
Four Brothers Abdel Aal (الإخوة الأربعة عبد العال) ~1.18M YouTube
YouTubeGaza-based brothers — social/entertainment 'voice of Palestine' content
H
Hamed Mansi (حامد المنسي) ~1.07M YouTube
YouTubePalestinian entertainment/social vlogs — high viewership
M
Montamy Abu Arab (منتمي أبو عرب) ~476K YouTube
YouTubeComedy sketches — Bethlehem-based, relatable youth humor

Celebrities

Bella Hadid ~59M Instagram
Supermodel (Palestinian father); vocal pro-Palestine advocate — top global fashion relevance
Mohammed Assaf ~6M Instagram
Singer; won Arab Idol 2013 ('Dammi Falastini'); UNRWA goodwill ambassador
Saint Levant ~3M Instagram
Singer-rapper (born Jerusalem, raised Gaza); global viral hits — youth/streetwear relevance
Elyanna ~2.6M Instagram
Palestinian-Chilean pop singer; Coachella 2023, Forbes 30U30 — rising Arab-pop star
Hiam Abbass n/a — not active on Instagram; fame is film/TV, not social
Acclaimed actress & director (Succession, Ramy, Lemon Tree) — international film prestige
Dalal Abu Amneh ~351K Instagram
Singer & neuroscientist; guardian of Palestinian folk/Sufi music

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals
  • E-commerce COD (fashion, gadgets, beauty/nutra)
  • Mobile apps & games
  • Nutra (weight-loss/beauty — Halal framing)
  • Digital top-ups & utilities
  • Dating (cautious)
  • Crypto/forex (grey, informal demand)
Active networks
  • Boostiny (MENA)
  • ArabyAds / ArabClicks
  • Admitad / Mitgo
  • Mobidea
  • AdCombo (COD nutra)
  • local performance agencies
Payouts
  • Tier-3 — low CPMs and payouts: COD nutra CPA ~$5–15
  • dating/app-install CPL low
  • USD payouts strongly preferred by local affiliates
Competition
  • Low–moderate — a small market usually bundled into broader MENA/Levant buys
  • unique frictions (payment gateways, card penetration, Gaza connectivity/logistics) deter dedicated campaigns
Seasonality
  • Ramadan/Eid peaks and back-to-school
  • heavily dependent on connectivity — Gaza disruptions can zero out delivery
Traffic sources
  • Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Ads — the primary channel
  • TikTok Ads
  • Snapchat Ads
  • Google & YouTube
  • Telegram
  • Influencer & WhatsApp distribution

Good to know

Capital
  • Ramallah (de facto administrative seat of the Palestinian Authority)
  • East Jerusalem is the declared capital of the State of Palestine
Major cities
  • Gaza City
  • Ramallah
  • Hebron (Al-Khalil)
  • Nablus
  • Bethlehem
  • Jenin
  • Khan Yunis
  • East Jerusalem
Time zones
  • Single zone — Palestine Standard Time (EET, UTC+2)
  • DST to EEST (UTC+3) roughly spring–autumn
Android vs iOS
Android 88% iOS 12%
Phone brands
  • Apple (~12%, = iOS share)
  • Samsung (leading Android vendor)
  • Xiaomi
  • Oppo
  • Huawei/Honor — Android ~88% overall; exact vendor shares indicative
Top e-commerce
  • Facebook/Instagram social-commerce shops (dominant)
  • AliExpress (cross-border)
  • Shein
  • Amazon (via Aramex Shop & Ship / forwarding)
  • JawwalPay shopping cards
  • OpenSooq / local classifieds
Peak activity
Evenings ~20:00–23:00 local; post-iftar late nights during Ramadan; Friday weekend
Creative taboos
The conflict/occupation and Gaza war casualties (extremely sensitive), religion (Islam), Fatah–Hamas factional politics, alcohol/pork, nudity & LGBT themes — never trivialize the war or politicize creatives
Also worth knowing
  • Facebook's outsized dominance (~96% of social web visits) makes Meta-first funnels essential
  • Very young (median ~20), mobile-first audience
  • Severe West Bank/Gaza divide: Gaza's economy and telecoms were devastated by the war (unemployment ~80%), so the West Bank is the reliably reachable/deliverable market
  • Cash/COD is ~95% of transactions and there's no native PayPal/Stripe, so lean on COD plus local wallets (JawwalPay/PalPay)
  • Strong diaspora and solidarity-commerce sentiment.

Indicative reference — always confirm the current rules with the official source before you run.

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