Any peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will require dialogue, mutual trust, and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. The "Palestine in Hebrew" Facebook channel demonstrates that the Palestinian government in the West Bank is attempting to foster such dialogue and understating with Israeli citizens. While the profile is but one element in a larger Palestinian outreach initiative, it exemplifies how digital tools, and social media, can be used by governments to overcome the limitations of traditional diplomacy and practice public diplomacy. 

Social media has changed the face of diplomacy and governments must adapt to their loss of control over information, a US state department official says. Richard Buangan, managing director for international media engagement, said times had changed with the public’s growing access to information and news worldwide. [...] Elites are no longer seen as gatekeepers of information and diplomats worldwide have become spokespeople for governments.

Addressing a session titled ‘Diplomacy and the Power of Communication’ on the second and final day of the Arab Media Forum 2017, Buangan said diplomacy and conversation are powerful tools for creating concrete and tangible results in developing mutual understanding among people and governments. Talking about new developments in the media, Buangan said media has evolved and became more global in engagement with the society. 

Is an alien mollusk species choking your shoreline? Don’t despair. China’s ravenous, inventive internet users have an answer to unwelcome shellfish.They’re ready to devour them. The Danish Embassy in Beijing has been absorbing that lesson since it shared a report online this week about a plague of Pacific oysters, a stubborn, gray intruder that has spread explosively along parts of the Scandinavian coast.

More than 20,000 other people also observed that moment after Adam posted a 40-second video of his experience on Facebook. It was one of many this social activist would share during his six-week trip to Somalia [...] Today, Adam is harnessing that following to galvanize support for Somalia, which is on the brink of a famine that threatens the lives of an estimated 6 million people, according to the United Nations.