Israel Uses AI Surveillance to Accelerate West Bank Demolitions

Summary

Israel is deploying artificial intelligence in the occupied West Bank to survey Palestinian land, detect changes and accelerate procedures that can lead to home demolitions, according to researchers, rights activists and Israeli media reports cited by Al Jazeera. The article focuses on ImiSight, a tool developed by Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael and previously used to survey Bedouin areas in the Naqab desert. PalDigital reported that the system helped survey more than 10,700 square kilometres in the Naqab and was linked to the forced eviction of more than 2,600 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel. In April 2025, an Israel Land Authority enforcement unit was established to operate in the West Bank; Peace Now said it uses advanced AI-based tools to detect encroachments and called the move a step towards annexation. Satellite-based edge computing can analyse imagery in orbit, identify landscape changes and send only relevant results to Earth, reducing delays associated with conventional human review. Peace Now and Kerem Navot documented an 80 percent increase in demolitions in Area C and occupied East Jerusalem between 2023-2025 compared with 2010-2022; an average of 966 buildings were demolished annually during the later period, while 1,288 Palestinian structures were destroyed in the first nine months of 2025. The system also draws on settler patrols equipped with drones and cameras. Critics warn that automated prioritisation can remove humans from consequential decisions and diffuse responsibility, while Palestinian officials describe parallel land-registration efforts as mechanisms for administrative annexation. Israel’s military and Rafael had not responded to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment at the time of publication.