A Palestinian high official has blamed Italian hackers for a cyber-attack on the national internet network.

The minister of communication and information technology, Mashour Abu Daqqa, told Ma'an news agency that the hackers used new tactics in the latest attacks on Palestinian internet providers.

Huge quantities of emails are sent in order to disable Palestinian servers. Abu Daqqa said his ministry would ask Palestinian security services to co-ordinate with Italian security services to combat the attack.

Hackers shut down Wafa, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency, recently along with several websites affiliated with Ma'an Network, including its news page.

The Palestinian territory hires lines from international companies to connect on the internet as it does not have its own connection. According to Abu Daqqa, this increases the country's vulnerability to foreign cyber-attack.

Anonymous has launched a cyber-crusade against Israel to end what it calls a "reign of terror".