YouTube’s Violation of Palestinian Digital Rights: What Needs to be Done

Palestinians are increasingly reporting that their digital rights are being violated by social media platforms, including YouTube. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Amal Nazzal, examines YouTube’s problematic community guidelines and policies, and how they are used to discriminate against Palestinian users’ content. She offers recommendations for protecting the digital rights of Palestinian activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.

Israel has directly contributed to the deterioration of Palestinians’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Al-Shabaka policy analyst, Yara Asi, explores the different ways in which Israel has impacted Palestinians’ ability to respond to and mitigate the disastrous effects of the pandemic, and recommends approaches to addressing the Palestinian health crisis.

The Israeli state has actively sought to destroy Palestinian Jerusalem since its creation in 1948. Al-Shabaka’s Senior Palestine Policy Fellow, Yara Hawari, examines the July 2020 attacks on three Palestinian cultural institutions in East Jerusalem as part of the Israeli regime’s systematic destruction of the city’s Palestinian identity. She offers policy recommendations for protecting Jerusalem’s Palestinian cultural and political institutions.

Tourism has been critical to the Zionist enterprise since the first Zionists settled Palestine. Al-Shabaka policy analyst Halah Ahmad explores the role of tourism, and especially religious tourism, in propagating the Zionist and Israeli-state narratives, focusing on the damaging impacts of Israeli settlement tourism in illegally occupied Palestinian land. She offers recommendations for ethical tourism that promotes Palestinian rights to self-determination. 

Reports that Israel is compiling lists of officials who might be arrested during travel abroad if the International Criminal Court decides to investigate war crimes in Palestine highlight the power and potential of the Court. Al-Shabaka policy analysts Dana Farraj and Asem Khalil discuss three key indicators that support the strong possibility of ICC intervention against alleged war criminals.

The practice of mapping in Palestine-Israel has long been an exercise in power, imperialism, and dispossession. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Zena Agha examines how Palestinians have been excluded from maps of their own land from the British Mandate to today, and explores ways that Palestinians can – and do – reclaim maps as a means of resistance. 

Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, the Israeli Security Agency has been torturing Palestinians. Al-Shabaka Senior Palestine Policy Fellow Yara Hawari argues that the use of torture in Israeli detention is systematic and legitimized through domestic law, and outlines steps for the international community to hold Israel to account and bring an end to these violations. 

While Palestinian women have always faced political marginalization, developments since the Oslo Accords have caused them to endure perhaps even more formidable challenges when it comes to political participation. Al-Shabaka Palestine Policy Fellow Yara Hawari outlines these challenges and recommends ways for Palestinian women and society to disrupt this process and revitalize the Palestinian liberation struggle through feminism. 

For decades, political barriers have obstructed the Palestinian health system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, impeding rights and protections. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Yara Asi examines how the Israeli occupation has decreased Palestinians’ ability to seek or practice health care, and offers recommendations that can support Palestinians’ right to health within the current constrained circumstances.

Climate change is among the greatest threats facing humanity. Although Palestinians and Israelis inhabit the same terrain, Palestinians under occupation will suffer the effects more severely. Decreased precipitation is expected to be the most significant effect on Palestine-Israel over the course of this century, accompanied by a rise in average temperatures. The combination will result…