BREAKING: @washingtonpost investigation reveals IDF rollout of "Blue Wolf" — highly invasive surveillance technology to record the personal data and keep track of Palestinians living in the West Bank.
This invasion of privacy is on a whole new level. washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
According to testimonies given by soldiers to Breaking the Silence, IDF units in the West Bank were *incentivized to compete against each other* to photograph and collect the data of as many Palestinians as possible.
In the densely populated Palestinian city of Hebron, the IDF uses 'Hebron Smart City': smart CCTV cameras, radar, movement sensors and other hi-tech equipment to identify and track the Palestinian residents' every movement, throughout the city, in real time.
The investigation also reveals how Israeli settlers who employ Palestinians use an adjacent app, White Wolf, to scan Palestinian IDs, which feeds into the same system.
We've been 'making our presence felt' in Palestinian towns and villages, on street patrols and in home invasions, for decades now. But the use of cutting edge technology to do so, and on this scale, is unprecedented.
The Orwellian undertones of this story are deeply disturbing, but hardly surprising. While Israel prides itself on its thriving hi-tech economy and sells weapons and cyber technology around the world, we've been holding Palestinians under military occupation for 54 years now.
Our total disregard for Palestinian human rights means we can use this kind of technology without ever having to justify ourselves, without having to consider the implications on the lives of those living under our control.
As our exec director @AGvaryahu said: “Whilst surveillance & privacy are at the forefront of the global public discourse, we see here another disgraceful assumption by the Israeli govt and military that when it comes to Palestinians, basic human rights are simply irrelevant.”
And finally—
This story came to light thanks to the brave soldiers who came forward to breakingthesilence.org.il to testify about what they saw and did. It is due to their efforts and all those who have broken their silence, that the occupation will eventually be brought to an end.
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Those of us who served in the oPt know the reality in the South Hebron Hills. Last night, it was exposed to the whole world on the big screen—yet remains hidden and censored from those who live right next door to it and are extremely affected by it: Israelis.
In Israel, there is a deep fear of confronting this reality. Soldiers are sent to maintain the occupation, then silenced when they speak out about what they did. They are not allowed to talk about the immorality, violence, or oppression. But burying the truth doesn’t erase it.
Thanks to people like @basel_adra , @yuval_abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal, more and more eyes are being opened to this reality. Israelis are beginning to understand—if we want a different future for this land, we have no choice but to face the truth. Even when it hurts.
Last Friday, we set out with five buses carrying nearly 200 Israelis and foreigners as part of a routine tour to Hebron. But the army and police worked together to prevent us from seeing the reality for ourselves &🧵
A. We were denied entry for political reasons. While the army and police waved the magic wand of “security concerns” at us, settlers were free to come and go as they like. Those who joined us saw something fundamental about the occupation: it’s not about security.
B. As Israelis, we can never fully grasp the impact of these tactics on Palestinians—violence, restrictions, arbitrary arrests. If this is how citizens and tourists are treated, it’s terrifying to imagine what Palestinians endure every day across the occupied territories.
Today, in the West Bank, tying your shoes outside could be a death sentence.
The IDF has recently admitted multiple times to “mistakenly” killing innocent civilians in the West Bank. But these killings can be traced back to specific orders, all of which were imported from Gaza🧵
Central Command Chief Maj-Gen Avi Bluth recently decided to make a change to the IDF’s rules of engagement in the West Bank - issuing a shoot-to-kill order for anyone who “messes with the ground,” soldiers told @yanivkub of @haaretzcom. This had dire and immediate consequences.
Last week, a 7-year-old boy died of his wounds, 10 days after being shot by IDF forces, who said he was “handling something on the ground.” The IDF gave the same excuse last month after a drone strike killed the Bsharat cousins - ages 8, 10 and 21.
The residents of Masafer Yatta have been facing an onslaught of escalating settler violence and IDF demolitions since the ceasefire came into effect. Below, we’ve gathered a few fundraising projects by and for local activists, aimed at maintaining and bolstering these communities. Feel free to donate if you wish to show solidarity:
- The Center for Jewish Nonviolence (@CJNVtweets) is raising funds to help the residents of the village of Tuba recover from a settler attack. Last month, masked settlers burned the village’s only jeep, ransacked homes, smashed windows and destroyed 10 tons of animal feed - totaling $35,000 in damage. Any funds raised beyond this will be reinvested in the community.
Donate here: secure.everyaction.com/BnkfFDaTS0G8VS…
- @MHuraini has been documenting settler violence in and around his community for years. He is currently raising funds to buy a car, so he can more easily document settler violence and human rights violations in the rural Masafer Yatta region.
- Oscar-nominated activist and journalist @basel_adra is working alongside his mother Kifah - a veteran activist in her own right - to launch a line of shoes named Resolute RGL. Partnering with the Women's Weaving Cooperative of the Palestinian South Hebron Hills, they hope to raise funds for the community while promoting traditional Palestinian Tatreez embroidery methods.
Trump’s ultimatum could kill the ceasefire. We know that it’s either a deal now, or a deal later - but with many more dead hostages, soldiers and Palestinians. This deal was on the table for many months, as so many were killed waiting for our govt to begrudgingly accept it. 🧵
This deal is also clearly worse for both sides than the previous ceasefire deal, which fell apart through mutual violation accusations. That one lasted a week, during which over 100 hostages were released. Returning to war ensures the next deal will be signed on even worse terms.
These kinds of threats serve to further dehumanize Palestinians, treating 2 millions Gazans as bargaining chips that can be displaced at will. Sending soldiers to commit ethnic cleansing for some imagined real estate project to be built on a giant graveyard. It’s unconscionable.
Ever since the ceasefire started on Sunday, this government, through the IDF and its allies in the settlements, has been doing everything in its power to make sure Israel doesn’t reach the 2nd phase of the deal. Suddenly, Trump says he’s “not confident” the ceasefire will hold 🧵
Netanyahu said last week that Trump and Biden both gave “full backing to Israel’s right to return to fighting if Israel concludes that the negotiations on the 2nd phase are going nowhere.” Yesterday, the IDF began a massive operation in Jenin. They know this jeopardizes the deal.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has been serving as the de-facto Governor of the West Bank, said that the operation in Jenin was started as part of a new “goal” for the war, which was added at his party’s request - “changing the perception of security” in the West Bank.