policy lab august2024 (2)

For years, Israel’s rapidly growing military industrial complex has turned the regime into a leading exporter of sophisticated weaponry and cutting edge spyware. For just as long, Israel has used Palestinians under occupation and blockade as unwilling test subjects for its increasingly deadly and oppressive weapons technologies.

From Pegasus spyware to attack drones to AI targeting systems, Israel now exports its tools of subjugation to oppressive forces across the globe. Israeli spyware has been used to hack the phones of journalists; Israeli weapons were used by the Myanmar army to massacre thousands of Rohingyas; Israeli drone technology has been seen in multiple countries across Africa. And for more than 10 months, Israel has been testing out advanced AI targeting systems to streamline the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

In this policy lab, Marwa Fatafta and Antony Loewenstein join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to discuss Gaza as a testing ground for Israel’s global war industry.

Marwa is a Palestinian writer, researcher and policy analyst based in Berlin. She leads Access Now’s work on digital rights in the Middle East and...
Tariq Kenney-Shawa is Al-Shabaka's US Policy Fellow and co-host of Al-Shabaka's Policy Lab series. He holds a Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University....
With: Antony Loewenstein
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Latest Analysis

 Civil Society
In this policy lab, Mariam Barghouti and Sharif Abdel Kouddous join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to discuss Israel’s targeted assassination campaign against Palestinian journalists, the complicity of Western media in normalizing these crimes, and how this silence allows Israel to get away with genocide.
Al-Shabaka Mariam Barghouti
Mariam Barghouti· May 28, 2025
 Civil Society
As the US and its allies lead a sweeping assault on the global legal order to shield the Israeli regime from accountability for genocide, international outrage has sparked an extraordinary wave of pro-Palestine solidarity and organizing. Millions have taken to the streets in a broad-based protest movement that marks a profound shift in public consciousness. In addition, a growing surge of grassroots initiatives has solidified Palestine as a central pillar in the global struggle for justice. Al-Shabaka’s latest Focus On explores how this solidarity is expanding and being reimagined globally. It highlights both the significant challenges facing the movement amid a vicious crackdown on pro-Palestine activism and the powerful, imaginative strategies that are emerging in resistance. Featuring insights from analysts across advocacy, academia, and policy, this collection examines how such solidarity can be sustained and transformed into a lasting political force.
 Politics
After more than a year and a half of Israel’s genocidal assault—marked by mass killings, devastation, and profound loss—even speaking of Gaza’s future, let alone its reconstruction, feels impossible. Indeed, the rebuilding of Gaza feels increasingly out of reach amid stalled negotiations, the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, and the relentless bombardment of people and place. Yet in the face of genocide and the looming threat of forced displacement, which the US administration is audaciously promoting as a fait accompli, there is an urgent need to cultivate a critical Palestinian political voice to reclaim Gaza’s future. As non-Palestinian actors push to impose their vision of the “day after,” this commentary by Talal Abu Rokbeh, Mohammed Al-Hafi, and Alaa Tartir argues for centering a Palestinian vision rooted in unity and self-determination. They emphasize that political reconstruction, not just physical rebuilding, is essential for collective survival and national liberation.
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