Israel Weaponises AI: ImiSight Used To Track Palestinian Land, West Bank Demolitions

Israel is using artificial intelligence and satellite-based surveillance to monitor Palestinian land and identify structures for enforcement action in the occupied West Bank, according to researchers, rights activists and reports cited by Al Jazeera.

The use of AI in the West Bank comes as Israel has also deployed artificial intelligence in its war on Gaza, where AI systems have been used to determine potential bomb targets, as documented in the award-winning documentary NAZA. Researchers and rights activists say Israel has also incorporated AI into its system of land surveillance and enforcement in the West Bank, allowing large areas to be monitored and changes to the landscape to be identified more quickly.

According to Al Jazeera, one such system is ImiSight, developed by Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael. The technology can survey large areas and detect changes that authorities may classify as unauthorised construction. Those findings can then be used in enforcement operations that may lead to demolitions.

The Turkish media outlet PalDigital reported in July, citing rights activists and Israeli media reports, that Israel had expanded the use of ImiSight from the Naqab desert to the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian homes have regularly been demolished for years over building violations.

Technology tested in the Naqab

ImiSight was initially used in Israel's Naqab desert, where Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel live in villages that are not recognised by the government. Authorities issue few building permits in many of these communities.

Activists have accused Israeli authorities of discriminatory policies towards the Bedouin population and said the measures are intended to push communities out of their villages to make way for Jewish settlements.

PalDigital reported that when the system identified changes to the landscape that were considered unauthorised structures, bulldozers were deployed in a number of cases.

Israeli media reported in January 2025 that ImiSight had enabled the Land Authority to survey more than 10,700 square kilometres in the Naqab, contributing to the forced eviction of more than 2,600 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel.

According to PalDigital, Israel has now brought the technology to the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian homes have regularly been demolished for years over alleged building violations in areas where obtaining permits is extremely difficult.

An Israel Land Authority enforcement unit was established in April 2025 with the express purpose of operating in the West Bank. Israeli rights group Peace Now described the move as a “step of annexation” and said the agency uses “advanced technological tools, based on artificial intelligence, for detecting encroachments”.

Amir Daoud, head of documentation and publication at the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, told Al Jazeera that the creation of the unit represented a calculated escalation.

“We are talking about transferring a surveillance and eviction model tested against Palestinians in the Naqab to the occupied Palestinian territory,” Daoud told Al Jazeera. “The political danger begins with establishing a district affiliated with the Israel Land Authority to operate inside the West Bank. This means introducing an Israeli civilian government apparatus directly into an occupied territory.”

Al Jazeera reported that it had approached the Israeli military and ImiSight for comment but had not received a response.

Satellites speed up surveillance

The use of AI-based land monitoring is also being supported by developments in satellite technology, which have increased the speed at which aerial imagery can be processed.

Khaled Safi, a Palestinian digital media and technology expert, told Al Jazeera that newer satellites can process images using AI while still in orbit, reducing the need to send all the imagery to Earth before analysis.

“When [powerful computer chips] and AI algorithms were adopted inside the satellite itself, it practically turned the satellite into an edge computing terminal operating in space,” Safi told Al Jazeera, referring to a device that processes data where it is created, rather than sending it to a data centre. “It takes the picture, analyses it, identifies changes and important objects, and then sends the result or just the important part to Earth.”

The combination of satellite imagery and AI can allow large areas to be scanned for changes and objects identified for further assessment.

That technology is being deployed as demolitions in the West Bank have increased.

Peace Now and Kerem Navot documented an 80 per cent increase in demolitions in Area C of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem when comparing 2010-2022 with 2023-2025. Area C is under complete Israeli military and administrative control.

The organisations recorded an average of 966 buildings being demolished annually between 2023 and 2025. Demolitions accelerated in 2025, with Israeli forces destroying 1,288 Palestinian structures between January and September alone.

Daoud described AI as increasing the speed and scale of the existing enforcement process.

“The algorithm here is a ‘force multiplier’: It scans vast areas, prioritises targets, identifies recent changes and allows a faster transition to warning and demolition,” Daoud stated. “The government makes the decision of decisive displacement, and the algorithm lowers the cost of executing it.”

Settler patrols add ground intelligence

The AI-based surveillance system also operates alongside a network of Israeli settler patrols equipped with surveillance technology, including drones and cameras.

In 2023, the Israeli government allocated 33 million shekels ($9m) to settler patrols and another 40 million shekels ($13.2m) to equip outposts with drones and cameras.

Safi warned of the serious ethical risk of a “human-out-of-the-loop” approach, where automated systems can dictate decisions affecting vulnerable populations without human review.

“The problem is transforming a fateful decision into a probability equation between zero and one, and between a number, an image, and data,” Safi stated. “This allows the criminal to disperse responsibility and escape it, making it fall either on the algorithm, the institution or another unknown entity.”

According to Al Jazeera, the use of these surveillance technologies comes alongside continued Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied territories.

Between 2023 and 2025, the Israeli government advanced plans for more than 40,000 settler housing units and established 185 new outposts. The settlements and outposts are considered illegal under international law.

During the same period, Israel oversaw the expulsion of 118 Palestinian shepherding communities across the West Bank.

According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Peace Now, roughly 750,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in the occupied territories. Peace Now recorded a record 1,836 settler attacks against Palestinians in 2025.

Land registry raises annexation concerns

The expansion of automated surveillance has coincided with the launch of an online land registry in Area C.

Palestinian authorities, including the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, have condemned the initiative, describing it as a digital mechanism intended to finalise administrative annexation.

Daoud described the system as an “engine for segregation”, pointing to what he said was different treatment of Palestinian construction and Israeli outposts.

“The Palestinian building is discovered early and pushed into a rapid demolition track, while the colonial outpost is funded, connected to services, and then worked on to be legalised retroactively,” Daoud noted.

The deployment of ImiSight in the West Bank also has implications for Israel's defence industry. Safi said the territory provides an environment in which surveillance technologies can be deployed and developed before being marketed to commercial companies.

“The Palestinian territories are not just a surveillance space, but a very clear environment for the occupation to execute all these operations in the field,” Safi warned. “It trains its algorithms on the highest technologies, and makes them ready for sale and global marketing to commercial companies.”