Israel Weaponises Artificial Intelligence for West Bank Demolitions, Rights Groups Warn

As the global community grapples with the ethical dilemmas surrounding artificial intelligence and the removal of human judgment from critical decisions, Israel has increasingly integrated AI into its military and administrative operations. Following applications in Gaza to determine bomb targets, researchers and human rights advocates report that artificial intelligence is now being systematically weaponised in the occupied West Bank to survey Palestinian land and accelerate forced displacement.

According to reports from the Turkish media outlet PalDigital, which cited rights activists and Israeli media, Israel has deployed a specific AI product called ImiSight. Developed by the Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael, the software monitors vast land areas, observing physical changes that authorities then use as justifications for property demolitions. Initial deployment of the tool occurred in the Naqab desert, targeting Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel living in unrecognized villages where building permits are rarely granted.

Following its use in the Naqab, the tool was brought to the occupied West Bank, where demolitions for building violations occur in areas where obtaining permits is exceptionally difficult for Palestinians. In April 2025, an Israel Land Authority enforcement unit was established specifically to operate in the West Bank. The Israeli rights group Peace Now characterized the move as a step toward annexation, noting that the agency utilizes advanced AI-based technological tools to detect encroachments.

Amir Daoud, head of documentation and publication at the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, told Al Jazeera that establishing the unit represents a calculated escalation. Daoud stated that the model of surveillance and eviction tested against Palestinians in the Naqab is being transferred to occupied Palestinian territory, introducing an Israeli civilian government apparatus directly into an occupied zone.

Technological advances have further accelerated this monitoring process. Khaled Safi, a Palestinian digital media and technology expert, explained to Al Jazeera that modern satellites process aerial imagery in orbit using onboard computer chips and AI algorithms. Operating as edge computing terminals, these satellites analyze pictures, identify changes, and transmit only the relevant results to Earth, bypassing traditional human oversight delays.

Data reported by Israeli media in January 2025 indicated that ImiSight enabled the Land Authority to survey over 10,700 square kilometers in the Naqab, contributing to the forced eviction of more than 2,600 Palestinian Bedouin citizens. This automation has since extended to the West Bank. Israeli human rights groups Peace Now and Kerem Navot documented an 80 percent increase in demolitions across Area C of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem between the 2010–2022 period and the 2023–2025 timeframe.

An average of 966 buildings were razed annually from 2023 to 2025, with demolitions accelerating sharply in 2025 as Israeli forces destroyed 1,288 Palestinian structures between January and September alone. Daoud described the algorithm as a force multiplier that scans vast areas, prioritizes targets, and facilitates a rapid transition to warning and demolition.

This enforcement apparatus is further supported by a network of Israeli settler ground patrols. In 2023, the government allocated 33 million shekels to settler patrols and 40 million shekels to equip outposts with drones and cameras, transforming illegal outposts into intelligence-gathering nodes. Safi warned of the ethical risks associated with a human-out-of-the-loop approach, wherein automated probability equations dictate the fate of vulnerable populations and allow institutions to evade responsibility.

The technological enforcement operates alongside significant settlement expansion. Between 2023 and 2025, the Israeli government advanced plans for more than 40,000 settler housing units and established 185 new outposts, which are illegal under international law. Concurrently, the expulsion of 118 Palestinian shepherding communities was overseen across the West Bank. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Peace Now, approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers reside in the occupied territories, alongside a record 1,836 settler attacks against Palestinians in 2025.

Additionally, an online land registry launched in Area C has been condemned by Palestinian authorities as a digital mechanism intended to finalize administrative annexation. Daoud highlighted double standards within the system, noting that Palestinian structures face rapid demolition tracks while colonial outposts receive funding, services, and retroactive legalisation.

Safi also warned that the deployment of ImiSight in the West Bank serves a dual purpose for Israel's defense industry, utilizing Palestinian territories as a testing ground to train algorithms for global commercial marketing and sale. Al Jazeera reported that it has reached out to the Israeli military and ImiSight for comment but has not yet received a response.