PNINA is doing its best to make the migration process to the new system as smooth as possible and ensure the CRs are completely ready for this important upgrade.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The Palestinian National Internet Naming Authority

1. NON-REFUNDABLE Transfer fees will be imposed on all domain transfers (10$ for local registrars and $20 for international ones)
2. Renewal of transferred domains is not mandatory anymore
3. Registrars can modify ALL contact information of a domain name including owner name and email without PNINA interference (if there is no lock imposed by the registry or the client).
4. Authorization key of a registered domain name should be communicated to the domain owner by the CR to give him full control of the fate of his domain.
5. Domain transfer can be conducted mutually between registrars or by providing the authorization key to the gaining registrar.
6. No renewal for domain owner modification will be imposed.
7. Prices for .Felasteen domain names will be identical to .ps ($20 for local registrars and $35 for international ones) with the same discounts applied for multiple year registration.
8. No change in the premium or 2/3 character domain names policy and prices.
9. Character folding for Arabic domain names should be registered by the CRs and will be treated as different domain names and charged accordingly.
10. Dispute resolution rules and procedures will be the same for .PS and .Felasteen.

This workshop reviewed and covered the Palestinian IDN (.falasteen) registration procedures and policies, technical, administrative and financial aspects have been explained and discussed.

PNINA General Manager Mr.Marwan Radwan welcomed the attendees, said that PNINA has completed all the preparations for launching new automated registration system and announced opening the registration of the Palestinian IDN (.falasteen)  .

Mr .Radwan declared that the Registration will be opened in two stages, the first on 18 October 2010 for local and international organizations; companies and Trademarks holders to enable register their domain names in Arabic language through PNINA Certified Registrars this sunrise period will end on 30 November 2010.

The second stage will start on 2 January 2011 where the registration will be open for local and international individuals and institutions. Only applications with correct and complete information will be considered for registration. All applications will be processed on equal basis and according to the first-come-first-serve principle through PNINA registrars.

Discussion and questions was opened at the end of the workshop for all aspects of launching and using the new automated system, second workshop for technical aspects will be holding on 20-10-2010.

PNINA launched its official website in new design on 30 September 2010in keeping abreast with the launch of Palestinian country code Top-Level-Domain in Arabic (.falasteen).

PNINA was keen to keep development on the website with the achievements and aspirations for the future of .PS registry and the information technology sector in Palestine.

The new website includes many new, important and interactive sections which serve all stakeholders whether individuals or Institutions or companies, It also contains all the information necessary for domain names registration and the required documents and fees, rules and procedures to be followed as well.

Today Google added google.ps. yourname.PS is where domains in occupied Palestine are registered like .com or .co.uk. And according to Google Arabia blog post “the new domain will give Arabic-speaking users in the Palestinian Territories, who use Palestinian ISPs, access to Google in Arabic–and eventually, access to more locally-relevant content. With the launch of google.ps, we bring the total number of Google domains worldwide to more than 160. ”

Google also mentioned that it has plans to continue rolling out more domains in the coming months, particularly in Africa.

We do not know if google.ps will work from Gaza, But I will ask Google and update you here soon.

Update: According to a user in Gaza Google.ps works fine in Gaza.

Update2: Google confimred that they will be directing ”users based on their ISPs, so users of Palestinian ISPs will automatically be redirected to google.ps. However, any user can type in any Google domain they prefer to go.”

Update3: google also explained to ArabCrunch how things will be different to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza:

” Up until today, Arabic-speaking users in the Palestinian Territories have had to visit foreign domains (e.g.google.eg in Egypt) in order to search in Arabic. Starting today, Arabic-speaking users in the Palestinian Territories who use Palestinian ISPs will be given direct access to Google in Arabic via google.ps

With AdWords, you can target your ads to countries or territories, or to specific regions and cities. The Adwords system uses several factors to determine whether to show your ad including the Google domain being used (.fr, .de, .kr, etc.), the actual search term the user submits and when possible, we determine the user’s general physical location based upon their computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address.”

ArabCrunch

http://arabcrunch.com/2009/08/breaking-google-launches-a-palestinian-domain.html