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Israeli authorities have increasingly integrated advanced artificial intelligence technologies into their land administration and military apparatus, utilizing automated systems to track Palestinian construction and expedite property demolitions throughout the occupied West Bank. The adoption of these digital tools marks a significant shift in how surveillance and displacement are managed in the occupied territories.
While international discussions continue to focus on the ethical hazards of deploying artificial intelligence in governance and military contexts—particularly the danger of removing human judgment from life-altering decisions—Israel has pushed forward with incorporating AI across multiple operational arenas.
In the Gaza Strip, algorithmic platforms have previously been deployed to identify potential bombing targets, a practice that contributed extensively to casualties and was highlighted in the award-winning documentary *NAZA*. Researchers, rights advocates, and independent monitoring groups have documented that similar technological architectures are now being directed toward the systematic surveillance of Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
At the center of this technological strategy is ImiSight, an AI-powered surveillance product developed by the Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael. The software is engineered to monitor sweeping expanses of land by analyzing aerial and satellite imagery, instantly identifying unauthorized modifications to the terrain or newly erected structures that can subsequently serve as legal pretexts for demolition operations.
Before its application in the West Bank, the ImiSight system was deployed across the Naqab desert, where it targeted Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to reports by the Turkish media platform PalDigital. Many Bedouin communities reside in villages that the Israeli government refuses to formally recognize, leaving residents virtually unable to obtain lawful building permits. Rights organizations have long argued that these planning policies are discriminatory, designed to clear indigenous Bedouin populations to facilitate the establishment of Jewish settlements.
In the Naqab, whenever the automated surveillance platform detected structural alterations or unauthorized construction on the landscape, demolition crews and bulldozers were dispatched to dismantle the identified sites. Israeli media accounts documented that the Israel Land Authority used ImiSight to survey more than 10,700 square kilometers across the Naqab, contributing directly to the displacement and eviction of over 2,600 Palestinian Bedouins.
Building on the operational framework established in the Naqab, Israeli authorities have introduced the technology directly into the occupied West Bank. For decades, Palestinians in these areas have faced widespread structural demolitions due to an administrative environment where Israeli authorities grant building permits to Palestinian applicants only under extraordinarily rare circumstances.
To formalize this enforcement model, the Israel Land Authority created a specialized unit in April 2025 specifically tasked with conducting operations inside the West Bank. Israeli human rights organization Peace Now characterized the establishment of this body as a tangible "step of annexation," noting that the agency, which governs land administration, relies on advanced AI-driven technologies to detect unauthorized building and encroachments.
Amir Daoud, who heads the documentation and publication department at the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, identified the creation of this specialized unit as a calculated administrative escalation. Daoud pointed out that the initiative represents a direct transfer of the surveillance and forced displacement model originally tested against Bedouin citizens in the Naqab into the occupied Palestinian territory.
Daoud noted that the political danger of the policy lies in embedding an Israeli civilian governmental apparatus directly into occupied territory under military rule. From a functional perspective, he described the algorithm as an operational "force multiplier" that autonomously sweeps vast areas, ranks potential targets, tracks recent physical developments, and substantially accelerates the timeline between initial warnings and physical demolition. Through this automation, the algorithm significantly reduces the logistical and administrative costs required for executing government displacement directives.
The efficiency of this automated surveillance is further bolstered by technical advancements in satellite architecture. Digital media and technology specialist Khaled Safi explained that modern reconnaissance systems bypass traditional data processing bottlenecks by embedding AI capabilities directly onto orbital platforms through edge computing.
According to Safi, integrating high-performance processors and algorithmic tools directly inside orbiting satellites allows imagery to be analyzed instantaneously in space where the data is initially gathered. Rather than transmitting massive raw datasets back to terrestrial data centers for manual examination by human analysts, the edge computing terminal processes the imagery in orbit, isolates relevant structural changes or objects, and beams only the essential operational findings back to authorities on Earth.
This automated pipeline has coincided with a dramatic escalation in structural demolitions on the ground. Joint findings compiled by Israeli human rights groups Peace Now and Kerem Navot revealed that demolitions increased by 80 percent in Area C of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem—regions under complete Israeli military and administrative jurisdiction—between the periods of 2010–2022 and 2023–2025.
During the 2023–2025 timeframe, an average of 966 Palestinian buildings were demolished each year. The pace of destruction quickened further in 2025, with Israeli security and administrative forces demolishing 1,288 Palestinian structures between January and September alone.
Requests for comment regarding the deployment of AI surveillance systems and the operational use of ImiSight in the occupied territories were submitted to the Israeli military and Rafael, but neither entity provided a response.
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