An attack on a young Palestinian shows just how much Israel is surveilling the West Bank

18-year-old Abdul Hadi Masharqa was violently assaulted by Israeli occupation soldiers, on Saturday morning, October 4, while working at the Al-Reef Bakery in Dura City, South of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) searched the workers and their phones. After finding a photo of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Abdul’s phone, they dragged and repeatedly beat him on his shoulders and sides:

Hussein Masharqa is the bakery owner, and Adbul’s Uncle. He told the Canary that:

A patrol of occupation soldiers raided the bakery and, after searching my nephew’s phone, and finding photos of Al- Aqsa Mosque on it, they assaulted and abused him, as evident in the videos from the stores cameras. They usually search people’s phones for photos and videos of Palestinian nationalist content, and if they find anything of this nature on them, the owner of the phone will be beaten and abused. Thank God Abdul is OK now, although he has bruises and contusions on his body.

According to Hussein, the area is prone to attacks, and his workers are always being subjected to assaults by the IOF and illegal settlers. This is due to the nearby presence of a military watchtower and a road built to serve the illegal colonial Zionist settlers and their settlement.

Hussein has also been beaten previously, and less than a year ago, he had to close down his previous bakery, at a huge economic loss, because it was next to the settler’s road, and the occupation’s army was constantly harassing his workers and customers.

Israeli surveillance is increasing

According to an article titled IDF Troops Are Now Going Through Palestinian Phones: Anything Forbidden Provokes Abuse in the Israeli publication Haaretz, the IOF are increasingly searching Palestinian phones during operations, scrutinizing photos, messages, or any content deemed forbidden. When such content is found, Palestinians often face verbal and physical abuse, humiliation, or destruction of their devices.

These phone searches happen at checkpoints or during home raids, with soldiers sometimes demanding passwords or forcibly unlocking devices. This practice is part of a broader escalation of Israeli digital surveillance and control over Palestinian lives in the West Bank serving as a testing ground for advanced surveillance technologies.

This surveillance extends beyond phones to the monitoring of Palestinian homes and communities, through advanced surveillance tools, including AI-based facial recognition and real-time tracking systems, which are actively used to identify and detain Palestinians, intensifying control, restricting freedom of movement, and deepening repression.

Digital repression

This digital repression coincides with heightened Israeli settlement activities, military raids, and land seizures, creating a situation where Palestinians are under constant digital and physical scrutiny.

A recent report by Sada Social, an organisation which works to increase Palestinian digital rights, highlights how Israeli soldiers trace Palestinian phones during operations, seizing devices and punishing individuals for possessing photos or messages connected to Gaza or Palestinian resistance.

This phone tracing acts as a tool of intimidation and control, further embedding digital repression within military tactics. The Sada Social report also claims these phone seizures and invasions of privacy are routine components of the Israeli occupation’s military operations in Palestine, and increase the overall climate of surveillance and oppression faced by Palestinians.

The IOF’s sustained and intensifying campaign to monitor, surveil, and control Palestinians through invasive phone searches and digital tracking, supported by the use of advanced surveillance technology measures, have serious consequences for privacy, freedom, and human rights for Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory.

Featured image and videos via the Canary