Globalized Gaza: How Tech, Surveillance & Policing Flow from Occupied Palestine to the US Border

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In this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we speak with Jamil of the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance about how the proliferation of technology, surveillance, and counter-insurgency policing in the occupied Palestinian territories has since 9/11, become more and more an export commodity along the US border with Mexico.

Tucson! Join us this Thursday for this important film and discussion. pic.twitter.com/3H3PeM8RLy

— Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance (@az2palestine) October 16, 2019

We begin our discussion with a crash course in Palestinian history and map out the formation of the state of Israel, the occupation of Palestinian land and the relationship between the United States and the Israeli government. We talk about the role of US support and aid for Israel and how this relationship impacts geopolitics in the region. Lastly, we touch on the impact of the occupation on everyday Palestinians and how the Israeli state surveils, monitors, and polices people’s everyday movements and lives.

Well done: @LondonPalestine shuts down Elbit UAV factory in Staffs #StopElbit #StopArmingIsrael #Gaza pic.twitter.com/cDk1Lao6xE

— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) August 5, 2014

We then switch focus to discuss how surveillance and counter-insurgency technologies that have been tested in the “laboratory” of the occupied territories, are now being put into place along the US border with Mexico. This includes companies like Elbit, who have helped design massive surveillance operations in Palestine and now are building a “virtual wall” along the border. We also discuss how US police departments are training in counter-insurgency operations with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and how this impacts the militarization of the police.

More Info: Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance, article on Elbit systems and their role in Apartheid, CrimethInc. article on Anarchists Against the Wall, and Behind the 21st Century Intifada.