A deadly surveillance laboratory
Since British colonial rule, Palestine has been a testing ground for tech-powered surveillance. What began with one of the first mass fingerprinting experiments in human history turned into a dystopian apparatus that uses some of the world’s most intrusive tools.
Palestinian activists, scholars and journalists have exposed the contribution of the Israeli tech sector to an apartheid-like regime, enabled by a pervasive militarisation, and denounced its centrality to the genocidal project organised by authorities in retaliation for the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Global outreach
Technology built by Israel’s booming “start-up nation” and its government’s repressive machine has impacted communities, activists and fundamental rights across the globe.
Little has been said about how it has impacted diasporas and citizens in the European Union.
After October 2023, cooperation between Israeli and European law enforcement bodies, companies and institutions has contributed to criminalising dissent, shrinking the civic space and violating rights across the bloc.
This investigation aims to pierce a veil of media silence and reveal the implications of this cooperation for activists, Palestinian citizens, and European society as a whole.
The stories that need to be told
Law enforcement and repressive, often AI-powered tech are two intertwined dimensions of the cooperation between EU countries and Israel. This project will examine broader patterns and specific cases of harm recorded since October 2023 at the EU level and in four selected countries: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Specifically, it will look at:
An exploration of data exchange between Israeli authorities, Europol, and key EU states, and its impact on activists, participation, and free speech.
A fresh insight into Israeli surveillance tools acquired by European law enforcement agencies, their aggressive marketing and lobbying tactics, and their impact on fundamental rights.