Algorithmic State Violence: Automated Surveillance and Palestinian Dispossession in Hebron's Old City

Automated surveillance systems, such as Israel's Blue Wolf biometric identification system, function as a form of state-sponsored terror in Hebron's Old City, eroding Palestinian social life and advancing settler colonialism. The study combines ethnographic interviews with Palestinian residents, a former Israeli general turned biometric entrepreneur, and veterans involved in the system's development to reveal how these technologies intersect with political violence and capital investment. This research reorients theories of accumulation and dispossession by highlighting the violent political imperatives driving surveillance innovations, moving beyond economistic framings.

Goodfriend, S. (2023). Algorithmic State Violence: Automated Surveillance and Palestinian Dispossession in Hebron’s Old City. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 55(3), 461–478. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020743823000879