"The Palestine Laboratory": Antony Loewenstein on How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation

[Uncle Joe]

3. It most certainly can be

Perhaps they didn't consider Palestine; The West Bank, Gaza, or Palestinians areas of Jerusalem to be a country in their calculations?

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Palestinians are subjected to multiple layers of surveillance, all of which aim to monitor Palestinian voices, restrict freedom of expression, and discourage their autonomy. Surveillance in Palestine bears an uncanny resemblance to the Panopticon, a mechanism of social and psychological control proposed by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. At the center of the Panopticon stands a guard in a watchtower. Surrounding the watchman are prison cells, all within his eyeshot, so the prisoners, not knowing whether they are being watched at any given time, are constantly on their best behavior. The French philosopher Michel Foucault, in his analysis of the Panopticon, argued that its purpose is to “arrange things [so] that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its actions.” The same megalomaniacal logic undergirds Israeli surveillance: The point is not only to watch Palestinians through strategically placed cameras, but also — and what’s perhaps more insidious — to make them feel watched no matter where they are. Israel’s digital surveillance is thus the latest iteration of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tactic of “demonstrating presence,” which promotes Israeli patrols of Palestinian communities for the sole purpose of exhibiting the army’s sprawling reach.

Surveillance lies at the very heart of occupation. As Edward Said wrote in his book Orientalism: “Knowledge of subject races or ‘Orientals’ is what makes their management easy and profitable; knowledge gives power, more power requires more knowledge, and so on in an increasingly profitable dialectic of information and control." Surveillance empowers the occupier by yielding information about the politics, culture, and daily life of the occupied.

Palestinians are subjected to Israeli authorities' digital monitoring on a daily basis, at checkpoints, during protests and social gatherings, and on social media. Palestinians are also subjected to what Shoshanna Zuboff has termed surveillance capitalism, whereby social media companies collect user data for profit through increasingly invasive means of data collection and analysis. In the absence of legislation protecting their right to privacy, Palestinians are particularly vulnerable to such corporate meddling into their lives. Finally, Palestinians regularly experience breaches of their privacy by the Palestinian Authority in its attempt to monitor them and prevent opponents from expressing their opinions.

Surveillance in daily life

Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank living under military occupation have always suffered significant social control and monitoring, often in the form of unannounced raids or searches of their homes and brutal interrogation at border crossings and checkpoints. In the past 20 years, this monitoring has penetrated the digital realm and has been ramped up with digital technologies. Palestinians are routinely monitored in public spaces, as Israeli authorities deploy CCTV cameras in the streets of the Palestinian territory, specifically in Hebron and East Jerusalem. This practice began in the year 2000, when Israel launched its technological and surveillance center “Mabat 2000.” Mabat, meaning “gaze” in Hebrew, has increased the number of cameras. In June 2014, the Israeli government passed resolution No. 1775, which calls for more CCTV cameras in Jerusalem under the pretext of "enhancing security." As a result of the resolution, Israel earmarked 48.9 million NIS ($15.26 million) in 2015 for increased CCTV surveillance in Jerusalem.

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The Israeli government maintains control over information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in the Palestinian territory, thus depriving Palestinians of their basic right to access affordable, quality internet. Israeli authorities have deliberately kept Palestinians’ internet technology obsolete. While Israel is upgrading to the fifth generation of the internet, Palestinians in the West Bank still use the third generation; Palestinians in Gaza get only the second. Depriving Palestinians of access to new technologies increases the price of the internet while decreasing the security of communication channels. In addition, Israeli authorities now possess the ability to monitor every phone conversation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli bugs are implanted in every mobile device imported into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, without the knowledge or consent of the eventual buyer. Finally, Israel utilizes surveillance spyware, which it manufactures and exports worldwide, against Palestinian human rights defenders. Such surveillance exerts a chilling effect on freedom of expression in spaces of civil society.

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https://www.mei.edu/publications/nowhere-hide-impact-israels-digital-surveillance-regime-palestinians

Just as some people don't know the Palestinians are also Semites.