Digital Rights Weekly Update: 27 Dec 2024 - 2 Jan 2025

Israel built an ‘AI factory’ for war. It unleashed it in Gaza

The Washington Post

To maintain the war’s breakneck pace, the IDF turned to an elaborate artificial intelligence tool called Habsora — or “the Gospel” — which could quickly generate hundreds of additional targets. The use of AI to rapidly refill IDF’s target bank allowed the military to continue its campaign uninterrupted, according to two people familiar with the operation. It is an example of how the decade-long program to place advanced AI tools at the center of IDF’s intelligence operations has contributed to the violence of Israel’s 14-month war in Gaza.

Palestinian Authority takes Al Jazeera off air after coverage of Jenin clashes

France 24

The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday suspended Al Jazeera broadcasts across the Palestinian territories, accusing the Qatar-based channel of “interference” in Palestine’s internal affairs. The suspension order came after Al Jazeera covered clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin in the West Bank.

PALESTINE: ‘Digital platforms amplify the Israeli narrative while systematically silencing Palestinian voices’

CIVICUS

Digital platforms have become key to shaping narratives about Palestine, often amplifying the Israeli narrative while systematically silencing Palestinian voices. Platforms such as Meta, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, routinely remove Palestinian content under vague ‘policy violations’. This has intensified since October 2023, with the Israeli Cyber Unit issuing over 9,500 takedown requests, 94 per cent of which were approved. These actions have resulted in the removal of posts, shadow bans – a form of censorship that limits visibility of pro-Palestinian content without user notification – and account suspensions, and have extended to the censorship of hashtags such as #FreePalestine.

‘See-Fire’ – Israel Deploys Lethal High-Tech Surveillance Systems in West Bank

The Palestine Chronicle

The Israeli army is preparing to deploy advanced technological security systems in the occupied West Bank, amidst growing concerns that the region could become a major battlefield, the New Arab reported, citing Israeli media. According to Israeli Army Radio, the Israeli occupation army has begun installing a variety of high-tech systems at key points, including settlement entrances, under the justification of “preventing infiltration.” These systems include surveillance towers and remote-controlled weaponry that can fire live ammunition without considering the safety of Palestinian civilians in case of errors. The announcement of these technologies coincides with ongoing Israeli military raids on Palestinian cities and towns, as well as continuous attacks by armed illegal Israeli settlers.