ps-domain Domain

The domain extension .ps is the country-specific top-level domain of the internationally still controversial state of Palestine, which comprises the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied by Israel since 1967 and the East of Jerusalem as its capital. Not all states in the world have yet recognized Palestine as a state. Many Palestinians are satisfied that this state, which is still very controversial under international law, has its own domain ending for domains and thus a country code for access to the WWW. It took three years after the inquiry at IANA in 1997 until the allocation of a country-specific top-level domain for the Palestinian autonomous territories was possible. Initially, IANA rejected the request because at that time Palestine was not assigned a country code in ISO 3166. The state received this country code on 1 October 1999, after which Palestine applied again for the allocation of a top-level domain, which was also granted by IANA.

Allocation guidelines of the domain extension

The .ps domain extension was launched on 22 March 2000 and is administered by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology. The Palestinian National Internet Naming Authority has taken over the operative business. There are no special restrictions on the assignment of a domain address ending in .ps. This means that any natural and legal person can register a domain to the country-specific top-level domain of Palestine. A residence or a company headquarters or branch office in Palestine is not necessary. Despite the very liberal registration policies, the cost of registering a domain name ending in .ps is quite high.

Use and meaning

Since the conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and the East of Jerusalem as the capital is far from over, and since there have been repeated attacks from the Israeli side in recent years, the infrastructure in the Palestinian territories is as good as unused. There are hardly any users of the domain extension .ps with an own website who live directly in Palestine. Many Palestinians have fled their homeland over the last decades and live scattered all over the world. Many of them set up a website with the ending .ps because of their attachment to their homeland.