7amleh has spent the first half of 2026 producing first-of-its-kind research and developing creative strategies to hold big tech companies accountable. Amidst the continuation of the genocide, escalating violence in the West Bank, and war with Iran, 7amleh continued to navigate profound uncertainty on the ground and across the region while putting Palestinian digital rights on the global agenda. Through groundbreaking research, including reports on AI Domination, as well as five years of documenting Meta's content moderation practices and platformcide targeting Palestinian digital rights, 7amleh has strengthened the evidence base for advocacy and accountability in partnership with prominent academic institutions such as Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Birzeit University in Ramallah.
Mid-Year Report · January – June 2026
7amleh 2026 Mid-Year Report
2026 Thus Far: Striving to Hold Big Tech Accountable
7amleh also secured important changes to Bing Maps, led shareholder engagement efforts that brought Palestinian voices directly to Meta shareholders, and continued to elevate these issues through in-person convenings, the annual Palestinian Digital Activism Forum (PDAF), now the largest conference on digital rights in the MENA region, and public forums at the UN, EU, and Annual General Meetings for PayPal and Meta in the U.S. Throughout this period, 7amleh has remained steadfast in its commitment to advancing Palestinian digital rights through research, monitoring, advocacy, campaigns, capacity building, and global mobilization.
7amleh By the Numbers
the first six months of 2026 ✊
- 0 PDAF Attendees
- 0 Publications
- 0M Views on Social Media
- 0 Secured, Erased & Restored Accounts
- 0 Participants in Trainings
- 0 Digital Rights Violations Reported
- 0 Digital Rights Violations Resolved
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Donate to 7amlehMonthly Recap
What 7amleh has been up to, month by month.
January
2026
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Gathering Digital Security Conference, Bethlehem
7amleh, in partnership with Dar Al-Kalima University, hosted the Digital Security Conference on the university campus in Bethlehem under the title “Our Digital Security, Our Future: The Digital Space Between Freedom and Security.” The conference brought together experts, legal professionals, and researchers working on digital rights, and was attended by approximately 200 participants, including university students, activists, and individuals interested in digital rights.
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Campaign Surveillance documentary launch
7amleh launched a campaign surrounding the publication of its documentary on surveillance in East Jerusalem, available on Facebook and YouTube, which was viewed more than 150,000 times and engaged more than 100,000 users.
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Success story Bisan Odeh's TikTok account restored
7amleh helped restore popular Gaza journalist Bisan Odeh, whose TikTok account was removed in January. Upon 7amleh taking the case directly to TikTok through established communication channels, the account was restored the same day.
February
2026
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Report “Hashtag Palestine”
7amleh’s annual publication, looking at how Palestinian digital rights are being restricted through the combined role of the state, tech companies, and emerging technologies (Read it here!)
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Gathering 61st Human Rights Council session, Geneva
7amleh participated in the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and conducted a side event titled “Digital Democracy Under Attack” in partnership with Innovation for Change, which presented evidence and regional trends to diplomats, UN officials, and civil society. It underscored how surveillance, legal harassment, and online restrictions are increasingly used to suppress dissent and shrink civic space.
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Gathering US Strategic Convening, Bay Area
7amleh held its US Strategic Convening in the San Francisco Bay Area, bringing together 40 individuals active in the Palestine and tech accountability movement for a three-day gathering.
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Campaign “بعد إذنك” (With Your Permission)
A digital awareness campaign targeting Palestinian youth aged 18–30 to promote safer digital practices, particularly around managing mobile application permissions. The campaign reached a staggering 1,481,290 people — 48.25% female and 51.75% male — across 7amleh’s social media channels.
March
2026
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Report EU Funding & Exports of High-risk AI Systems
“How EU Funding and Exports of High-risk AI Systems Exacerbate Severe Human Rights Violations in Palestine and the Broader Region” (Read it here!)
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Gathering 10th Palestinian Digital Activism Forum
7amleh hosted its 10th annual Palestinian Digital Activism Forum.
Read more!
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Success story Questions raised in the European Parliament
7amleh successfully submitted questions regarding the EU export of AI to the EU Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, who then asked them in an official session of the EU Parliament in the trade commission, as shown in this video on Instagram.
April
2026
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Report “Monetizing Occupation”
“Monetizing Occupation: Meta’s Financial Enablement of Settlement Activity and Violent Rhetoric Against Palestinians” (Read it here!)
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Success story Microsoft Maps corrections
7amleh succeeded in adding accurate place names and removing several misleading Israeli labels previously applied in the occupied West Bank across Microsoft Maps platforms. These changes are particularly significant amid escalating annexation efforts, settler violence, and forced displacement: digital mapping is not neutral — how places are labeled can either reinforce the erasure of Palestinian presence or challenge narratives that legitimize unlawful claims over occupied land.
May
2026
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Report Palestinian Access to Digital Economy Platforms
“Palestinian Access to Digital Economy Platforms: Barriers, Disparities, and Policy Responses” (Read it here!)
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Gathering First strategic litigation convening, Brussels
7amleh and several partners gathered in Brussels for 7amleh’s first strategic litigation convening. It was an opportunity to think beyond traditional advocacy and into a realm of strategically thinking about how litigation can be used to hold tech companies accountable.
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Success story AI-powered social listening tool
7amleh launched an innovative AI-powered social media listening tool for digital content monitoring and analysis that now serves the whole NGO sector in Palestine. The tool analyzes online discourse across digital platforms in both Arabic and Hebrew, transforming online conversations into actionable data for civil society organizations, researchers, media professionals, and international institutions.
June
2026
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Report “The Platformicide of Palestine (2021–2025)”
“A Data-Based Analysis of Meta’s Policy Application, Moderation Enforcement, and Communication.” (Read it Here!) Developed in partnership with Dr. Fabio Cristiano of Utrecht University, the research documents patterns of censorship and suppression affecting Palestinian content across Meta’s platforms over a five-year period, based on the 3,520 cases submitted to 7amleh’s Palestinian Observatory for Digital Rights Violations (7or).
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Gathering MEP briefings in the European Parliament
7amleh advanced engagement with several MEP offices to establish dedicated briefings and a parliamentary event on Palestinian digital rights and EU corporate accountability, with meetings across political groups including Lynn Boylan MEP (The Left, Ireland), Ana Miranda MEP (Greens/EFA) and Matjaž Nemec MEP (S&D, Slovenia).
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Report “Digital Domination” book co-published
7amleh co-published a first-of-its-kind book on the digital domination of Palestinians, covering topics that have not been researched before.
No items of this type.
Standouts
the moments that moved the needle
1PDAF 2026: Our Most Well-Attended Thus Far
7amleh concluded the 10th Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) 2026, held online on 30–31 March under the theme “The Battle over the Palestinian Digital Narrative in the Information Age,” bringing together more than 1,300 participants from Palestine and around the world. Through high-level discussions featuring prominent political, academic, and cultural figures, alongside 18 practical workshops delivered in partnership with leading institutions, the event advanced critical conversations on digital rights, media bias, and AI while equipping participants with concrete tools for storytelling, verification, and advocacy. The forum also celebrated success by awarding the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy for its global efforts, reinforcing PDAF’s growing role as a leading platform for collective action, knowledge exchange, and innovation in defending and amplifying the Palestinian narrative worldwide.
2Shareholder Resolutions at Meta and PayPal AGMs
The first half of this year was busy with shareholder engagement. Meta's shareholders partnered with us to introduce a proposal at the company's Annual Shareholders Meeting, calling on Meta to publish a report assessing the effectiveness of its human rights due diligence processes in addressing content moderation failures that facilitate human rights violations, with a focus on Gaza. PayPal shareholders also partnered with us to introduce a proposal calling on PayPal to expand access to Palestine and other conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
Notably, Palestinian journalist Faten Elwan introduced the proposal at the meeting itself. Elwan shared her personal experience of being suspended from Instagram for sharing pressing news about Palestinian human rights violations. Additionally, Norges Bank, one of the largest private investors in the world, voted in favor of our proposal, signaling the power this sort of work can bring to our movement.
Our network partners simultaneously put out an Alphabet shareholder resolution. This is exactly the kind of solidarity, collaboration, and pressure we need more of.
Help us keep holding big tech accountable.
Donate✦ New publication
7amleh and Birzeit University Launch New Book on AI, Surveillance, and Digital Power
7amleh and the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies at Birzeit University jointly launched the Maryam Abu Daqqa Fellowship Publication “Digital Domination: AI, Surveillance, and Digital Power in Palestine and Beyond,” in a hybrid format at Birzeit University in Ramallah, Palestine, and online. Bringing together five fellows from Palestine and across the region, the publication explores the expanding role of artificial intelligence, surveillance technologies, digital infrastructures, and corporate power in shaping contemporary systems of violence, control, and domination in Palestine and beyond. Developed during a period of profound urgency, the fellowship offers critical interdisciplinary perspectives on technology, militarization, and digital rights, while contributing to knowledge production rooted in the lived realities of Palestine and the wider region.
Watch the launch7amleh In the Media
“Why We Must Demand Accountability from Meta Over Palestine”
The New Arab — Op-Ed by 7amleh Policy Manager Jalal Abukhater
Read“Palestinians Risked Their Lives to Document Gaza, Then Came The Algorithm”
Wired
Read“Meta Accused of Allowing Israeli Groups to Profit from Anti-Palestinian Content”
Al Jazeera English
Read“Meta ‘financially enabling’ Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, report says”
Middle East Eye
Read
Making Palestinians More Digitally Resilient
1,131 people trained 🛡️
During the first half of 2026, 7amleh trained 1,131 participants, including youth, journalists, civil society organizations, and human rights defenders, strengthening digital resilience at both the individual and organizational levels. Through interactive workshops and practical exercises, participants developed skills to protect themselves and their communities online, while organizations strengthened their capacity to navigate emerging technologies and integrate them responsibly into their work.
7amleh also provided specialized capacity-building for Palestinian civil society organizations, including digital security workshops aimed at strengthening organizational practices and resilience, as well as training on the use of AI tools in planning and implementing advocacy campaigns. These sessions combined practical applications with discussions on how organizations can strengthen their digital security and integrate emerging technologies into their advocacy work effectively and responsibly.
Together, these experiences demonstrate how 7amleh’s capacity-building work extends beyond individual trainings: participants apply new skills in their daily lives, share knowledge within their families and communities, and strengthen the ability of Palestinian civil society to respond to an evolving digital environment.
“Before the workshop, I used simple passwords, clicked on links without thinking, and shared personal information without understanding the risks. Now I know how to recognize suspicious messages, protect my accounts, adjust my privacy settings, and ask for help when something doesn't feel right. I even helped my family improve their online privacy and shared what I learned with my friends.”
“The training was excellent, both in terms of content and practical application, as well as the training approach. Many thanks to the team, and 7amleh.”
Every donation funds another training, another restored account, another report.
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