HEBRON, WEST BANK When Issa Amro walks just a few steps outside the gate of his backyard, he is almost immediately approached by a group of soldiers.
The surveillance camera guarding the house alerted the soldiers to the scene.
was there when a fight broke out in front of the gate.
The home of Palestinian human rights activist Amro, 42, is surrounded by an Israeli military base and an Israeli settlement area.
It is almost impossible to leave the house without patrolling soldiers or surveillance cameras installed by the army following Amro’s movements at any time of the day.
For Amro, like other Palestinians living in the West Bank, movement restrictions imposed by Israel and sometimes also nighttime raids by soldiers have been a part of everyday life for a long time.
Hebron has become a high-tech “smart city”, where people are monitored using a network of the most technologically advanced surveillance cameras. Facial recognition is used, among other things.
Hebron is a divided city. The western H1 area is administered by the Palestinians, the eastern H2 area is under Israeli military administration.
In the Israeli-controlled area, there are Jewish settlements in the middle of Palestinian neighborhoods. They are shown in blue in the picture.
Because of the settlements, Israel strictly restricts the movement of Palestinians in the area under its control.
Streets and areas have been closed to Palestinians in whole or in part. Palestinians can pass through checkpoints from one part of the city to another.
– We don’t feel safe, and we don’t have any kind of privacy, says Amro.
There are no blind spots in Hebron
The Palestinians of Hebron noticed a change a few years ago. Suddenly they were being recognized at checkpoints before they had even shown their IDs.
Israel has been tight-lipped about the surveillance technology it uses. However, the army mentioned on its website a couple of years ago that the new network of cameras and probes in the “smart city of Hebron” is able to recognize “any movement or unknown sounds”.
The anti-occupation organization tracked down the new surveillance technology based on witness statements. The organization is an organization founded by former Israeli soldiers, and it figured out the surveillance technology by consulting Israeli soldiers serving in Hebron.
– Hebron’s smart city is about a network of highly effective cameras. The cameras are capable of facial recognition and some can even see inside homes through windows, a representative of the Breaking the Silence organization Nadav Weiman tells.
The cameras are connected to a comprehensive database created by the Israeli Armed Forces, which contains facial images and personal information of Palestinians. The system allows the Israeli army to remotely monitor Palestinian movements in real time.
For example, at checkpoints, surveillance cameras are equipped with a facial recognition system and are connected to the database.
A traffic light model is built into the system, which gives either a green, yellow or red sign of a passerby.
Green allows passage. Keltainen, on the other hand, promises an additional inspection. Red color leads to arrest.
The soldiers also use, among other things, a smartphone application connected to the database. It can be used to check the Palestinian’s identity or take a picture, which is saved in the system along with personal information. The application also contains a traffic light model.
According to the witness statements of the Hebron soldiers, pictures were also taken of children by force. The Israeli army has even organized a competition for the soldiers: the unit that uploads the most pictures will be rewarded.
The weapon, which fires soft-tipped rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades, was developed by the Israeli company Smart Shooter, which specializes in systems capable of tracking and locking onto a target based on real-time image recognition.
The weapon is controlled remotely.
As smart technology does the work, Palestinian and Israeli soldiers will face each other less and less, says Weiman of Breaking the Silence. It is easier to maintain occupation when human factors are removed from it.
– Before, for example, an elderly Palestinian could put his hand on my shoulder and ask me to let him through the checkpoint to see his grandchild. Now that is no longer possible. The algorithm takes care of the decision making.
The Israeli Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense did not respond to ‘s request for comment on the surveillance system.
The army blackmails with information about private life
Issa Amro also has to avoid hostile settlers in his backyard.
He tells how the settlers have thrown stones at him and others in the yard and also invaded his home.
He says that he got into the teeth of the army and the settlers because of his activism.
He is one of the founders of Youth Against Settlements, a youth organization that opposes settlements, and has urged Palestinians to nonviolent resistance. Amro has been arrested several times and Israel has filed lawsuits against him, which for example EU (you switch to another service) and UN experts (you will switch to another service) have called a political chase.
Sometimes Amro says that he covers his face when he leaves his house. He also tries to make sure that there is always someone at home in case of intrusions.
– I don’t want them to know exactly where I am and whether I am at home.
Amro is not alone with his experiences.
Imad Abu Shamsiya, 52, passes through two checkpoints every day to get home from work.
According to Abu Shamsiya, soldiers have come to his home several times to take pictures of him and his family members early in the morning or late at night.
“It feels like I’m living in a big prison,” says Abu Shamsiya.
Control is not only directed at men. Due to their privacy, Muslim women are also afraid, for whom being seen, for example, without a headscarf can be very distressing.
Both the Muslim and Jewish communities in Hebron are very old. According to Weiman, the Israeli army takes advantage of this, for example, by blackmailing Palestinians belonging to sexual minorities with the information they have acquired.
The women who live next door to Issa Amro have asked worriedly if the Israelis can see into their bedrooms.
– I have answered them to reassure them that they are not, but I don’t know if that is true, says Amro.
Many Palestinians from the Amro neighborhood have moved elsewhere.
– Israel does not evict residents by force. It makes it impossible for Palestinians to live in the area, so that we would leave here ourselves, says Amro.
Uncertainty increases stress
Israel is a major military power with which Finland also trades in arms. Israeli arms manufacturers often benefit from the use of their products in conflicts in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – field-tested military equipment has credibility in the eyes of buyers. Israeli arms exports grew exponentially (you switch to another service) for example, after the 2014 Gaza war.
Surveillance technology is also among Israel’s export products.
For example, the facial recognition technology of the Israeli company Oosto was installed at checkpoints on the West Bank in 2019. The company has since sold the same technology to dozens of countries where it is used, for example, in shopping malls, a US publication The Foreign Policy (you go to another service) tells.
The Israeli company Oosto has justified facial recognition at checkpoints by making the inspection process easier. The Israeli army, on the other hand, has commented to The Washington Post that the purpose of its military operations is, among other things, “to improve the quality of life of the Palestinians”.
Constant uncertainty about the surveillance technology in use and its purposes increases stress, says Issa Amro.
– They take a picture of me and immediately get all kinds of information about me. What else do they have? Are they listening to my calls or my home?
Graphics: Harri Vähäkangas/