Old Cleavage Are Dying: How Surveillance Technology Is Creating a Powerful Israeli-Arab-US Alliance

A new and powerful alliance has emerged in the Middle East. At its core is Israel, working closely with the United States, and a group of wealthy Arab partners, namely Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states. It reflects fear of a nuclear Iran and its efforts to control the MENA region. A key factor in the alliance's growth is the development of surveillance and military use technology. The corporations benefitting from this alliance have fostered political repression while enjoying high profit margins through the technologies they sell.

 

In the award winning film NAZA, 24 Israeli intelligence officers describe how the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted its war in Gaza. One reason there were so many civilian causalities was the use of sophisticated technologies to surveil HAMAS operatives using their cell phones. The intelligence officers note that the most effective way to kill them was to bomb their homes at night while they were sleeping next to their phones and with their families. Bombing HAMAS members' homes led to extensive collateral damage in civilian deaths, hence the film's title NAZA (nezek agavi - Hebrew for collateral damage).

NAZA underscores the increasing use of "technologies of death" in the conduct of war. Israel is one of the world's leaders in new forms of surveillance and cyber security technology. How will this technology impact other nation-states which purchase it? In particular, how will Israel's sales of such technology to Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), affect the traditional Arab Israeli cleavage? Will it lead to more repressive authoritarian rule in a region which is already entirely devoid of democratic governance?

A major concern raised by this technology is the spread of what Shoshana Zuboff calls "surveillance capitalism." This form of capitalism began with the commodification of personal data under the impact of the digital revolution. Surveillance technology in the wrong hands threatens our privacy, freedoms and personal safety. Unfortunately, for the companies which produce and sell it, profits motive override any concerns for human well being.

More recently, surveillance technology has morphed into a mode of controlling human behavior.  Thus, the use of surveillance can be put to good uses to fight crime and terrorism, and protect critical infrastructure. To date, however, it has more often than not been used for malevolent purposes.

In the Gaza War, the IDF has deployed its intelligence officers to locate and target HAMAS operatives in their homes. This was the most effective way to eliminate them. However, it resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians, including large numbers of women and children. That massive civilian deaths, euphemistically refereed to as "collateral damage" rather than human beings, underscores the dehumanization of surveillance technology when used for policing and military purposes. We are Google and Amazon workers. We condemn Project Nimbus

The development of surveillance technology and cyber intelligence firms has become a key growth sector in the Israeli economy. This sector developed in the early 2000s after the Second Intifada and September 11th attacks. A driving force behind the growth of these firms was a IDF unit known as 8200 (The  Intelligence Pipeline). Many IDF members who served in Unit 8200 subsequently went into the private sector after leaving military service to either create or join private sector firms focused on surveillance and cyber security technology.

With growing international demand for surveillance and cyber security technology, newly established Israeli firms found a willing global market. One of the first firms to rise to prominence was the NSO Group. Founded in 2011, it developed the Pegasus software which can be surreptitiously loaded into an individual cell phone (via the "zero-click" function) and then follow and record the owner's every move and access all of her/his personal data. Israel and Google cooperate on Project Nimbus  Google Worried It Couldn’t Control How Israel Uses Project Nimbus, Files Reveal

When first marketed, NSO stated that Pegasus was designed to combat crime and terrorism.  However, it soon became evident that it was being used to surveil journalists, human rights activists, local dissidents, and NGOs. A number studies, including Amnesty International's Project Pegasus, documented the human rights abuses Pegasus had facilitated in a number of countries by authoritarian regimes around the world. Amnesty International: Case Study - The Pegasus Project

Pegasus spyware has been central to the Netanyahu regime's foreign policy. With the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2019,  the Israeli prime minister made sure each Arab country received the new technology. Pegasus was also linked to the killing of Washington Post correspondent and Saudi dissident, Jamal Khashoggi. Before and after his gruesome murder and dismemberment in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul Consulate, members of his family were targeted by Pegasus both before and after his assassination. The Pegasus Project Where Netanyahu Went, NSO Followed: How Israel Pushed Cyberweapon Sales

NSO and other surveillance technology firms have benefitted from contacts with US firms. Amazon and Google were part of the highly controversial Project Nimbus. This $1.2 billion project which was signed 2021 provided cloud services for the Israeli military and government. However, the contract lacked all the normal provisions for controlling the proper and lawful use of the cloud services. Google's own lawyers objected to the ability of Netanyahu's government's ability to use the technology in any way they saw fit. We are Google and Amazon workers. We Condemn Project Nimbus

The Pegasus technology has allowed for further surveillance of and unlawful data collection on Palestinians, and facilitates expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements on Palestinian land.  It has also been used for repressive purposes in many states, some of which are highly autocratic.  These states include Uganda, Azerbaijan ,Hungary (under ex-prime minister Viktor Orban),  Mexico, Morocco, India, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Bahrayn and Poland. Spyware may be targeting some 1,000 journalists, dissidents and human rights activists worldwide, probe shows

American spyware and surveillance firms have developed close ties to Israel. Palantir Technologies, the cyber security firm whose products and sales have provoked International controversy, maintains a strategic relationship with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Both Alex Karp, the CEO, who is a strong supporter of the Netanyahu regime, and Peter Thiel, co-founder and Board of Directors chair, have visited Israel  where they concluded a contract with the Ministry of Defense.  to supply it with their Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) which improves targeting and miltary decision-making. Palantir Joins Forces With Israeli Defense Ministry In War Tech Partnership: Report

Palantir's Middle East exposure is by no means limited to Israel. According to its own reports, it supplies a vast array of defense, A.I. products and spyware to Arab Gulf states. While, according to its blog, Palantir is. not a surveillance company, meaning it does not conduct surveillance itself, it has worked with Dubai Holdings launched Aither, a joint venture with the Dubai government's investment arm, to promote AI and data-integration transformation in the UAE's public and private sectors. Ostensibly for civilian use, the software platform's data aggregation ability can also be used to monitor and repress citizen dissent. About Palantir: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Palantir

More recently, Israel's surveillance and cyber security industry's relations have been closer to home. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have developed closer security ties to Israel. This development contravenes Saudi Arabia's 2002 Arab Peace Initiative (API) which precludes ties with Israel until a n independent Palestinian state is created. Time for Saudi Clarity on Normalization with Israel

However, Saudi interaction with Israel has been extensive for many years. After the Saudi monarchy found itself under weapons sanctions as a result of Jamal Khashoggi's murder, Benjamin Netanyahu contacted the Trump administration to lobby on behalf of Muhammad Bin Salman, who was facing severe international condemnation for ordering Khashoggi's murder. Netanyahu tried to help to lift any sanctions on Bin Salman's regime in an effort to develop closer ties with the Saudi monarchy. Netanyahu Tells Trump To Back Saudi Prince After Brutal Khashoggi Murder

Authoritarian Arab states face restive, disgruntled populations, especially among youth. Their increasing dependence on surveillance technology and spyware to monitor and control challenges to their rule has created a strong market for Israel and American corporations. which sell these products. Quadream, a now defunct Israeli company, sold spyware to UAE and Saudi Arabia among many other countries. A secretive firm, its products were similar to the NSO Group. Working in Cyprus allowed Quadream to circumvent oversight by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Surveillance technology firm Quadream reportedly selling intrusive tools to Saudi Arabia, raising human rights concerns

Integrity Lab (formerly Candiru) is an Israeli spyware and cyber arms company founded in 2014. The company has developed malware which allows infiltrating mobile telephones computers and other digital devices. It has exploited advertising platforms to identify possible targets and use information gathered to infiltrate their digital devices. based on its activities, Integrity Lab (then known as Candiru) was placed under International sanctions by the United States. Researchers Uncover Signs of Massive Surveillance Operation on Starlink Users

The political implications What the new alliance of the Israel the United States and Saudi Arabia and the Arab states underscores is that the old cleavages of Israel vs. Arab, Arab nationalism vs. Zionism and Muslim vs. Jew have largely lost their meaning.  Once powerful ideologies such as Arab nationalism, secualkr Zionism and radical Islamism have lost thei luster. 

Devoid of ideologies and ruling largely through brute force, technologies which allow authoritarian regimes find surveillance technologies highly attractive. It allows the region's dictators surveil and arrest any citizen who appears to threaten the existing order. Surveillance technologies have become the new modus operandi of repression. China usually comes to mind when we think of surveillance. But the Middle East may soon be in a position to challenge China's first place in this infamous form of rule.