MESA Banner
Surveillance AI, Occupation, and Glitch Resistance in Palestine
Abstract
Israeli authorities extensively use facial recognition technologies through surveillance cameras and smartphones, including an experimental system known as Red Wolf. Many surveillance technologies have been developed and tested in the West Bank, including key Israeli surveillance systems, demonstrating an intensified surveillance presence. Israeli defense officials consider Israel's surveillance apparatus in Gaza to be one of the most advanced globally, showcasing a high-tech approach to monitoring activities in the region. After Oct 7th, Israeli surveillance firms NSO and Candiru offered free surveillance technologies to Israel to track hostages and “Hamas fighters.” U.S. intelligence agencies are using “Hamas” to push for renewing a surveillance program that would enable direct spying on non-Americans abroad. Using legal loopholes, section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has also become a “go-to domestic spying authority,” allowing for warrantless searches of Americans’ private communications. It has been used to collect vast intelligence on U.S. representatives, senators, civil liberties organizations, political campaigns, and activists. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Palestinian protests faced privacy violations, including forced phone confiscation and demands for social media passwords by Israeli forces. In Gaza, the internet shutdowns have been labeled "premeditated crimes," worsening the horrors of Israel’s war on children. In this paper, I examine two stories emerging out of the digital landscape, the data body, if you will, of Gaza, Palestine. One touting Israeli prowess in surveillance technologies – the big question there is, then how the hell did they miss foreseeing the October 7th attack on Israel? Was that a glitch? The second story that is painfully and beautifully emerging across TikTok, Instagram, Signal channels, and the International Court of Justice is a global collective cry for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine. Through glitchy acts of sousveillance from journalists like Bisan from Gaza, Wael Al-Dahdouh, Motaz Azaiza, and many others.
Discipline
Interdisciplinary
Geographic Area
Israel
Palestine
Sub Area
None