RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian authorities on Tuesday denied that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had stopped serving Palestinian shoppers.

Israeli media reported Monday that Alibaba will stop serving Palestinian shoppers as of 2022.

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, the move was taken as the Palestinian Authority’s mail service refuses to handle packages that have the word Israel in the address.

“Any Palestinian package will arrive in the Palestinian territories without problems,” Muaz Daraghmeh, director of the Palestine Post, told Anadolu Agency.

He said all packages to the Palestinian territories must carry the Palestinian postal code and the destination city.

“This move is the result of Palestinian efforts to preserve the Palestinian digital rights,” he added.

Palestinian shoppers cited cheap delivery fees and short delivery time for putting Israel in the address compared to the Palestinian postal address.

Alibaba's move is believed to be taken on a Palestinian request for reorganizing the postal services with the online commercial platforms within its territories.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar