Israel uses AI tools to accelerate West Bank demolitions

Researchers and rights activists say Israel is using AI systems to monitor Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and speed up demolitions. PalDigital identified ImiSight, a tool developed by Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael, as part of a surveillance model first used in the Naqab against Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel and later brought into occupied territory.

An Israel Land Authority enforcement unit was established in April 2025 to operate in the West Bank, a move Peace Now described as a step toward annexation. The group said the agency uses advanced AI-based tools to detect encroachments, while Palestinian officials warned that a civilian Israeli land authority operating in the West Bank deepens direct control over occupied territory.

Israeli media reported in January 2025 that ImiSight enabled surveys of more than 10,700sq km in the Naqab and contributed to the forced eviction of more than 2,600 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel. Peace Now and Kerem Navot documented an 80 percent increase in demolitions in Area C of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem when comparing 2010 to 2022 with 2023 to 2025.

The system is also supported by settler patrols, drones and cameras. In 2023, the Israeli government allocated 33 million shekels ($9m) to settler patrols and 40 million shekels ($13.2m) to equip outposts with drones and cameras, while settlement expansion and Palestinian expulsions continued across the West Bank.