YouTube removes 700 videos documenting atrocities committed by Israel

BarcelonaYouTube has removed the channels of three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations—Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)—and deleted some 700 videos documenting atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. These included testimonies from mothers and children in the Shireen Abu Akleh investigations and footage of the demolition of Palestinian homes, among other things. This evidence, which these organizations had gathered to present in international courts, has been unavailable online since the end of October. "Let's back up all our content; we don't just store it on YouTube, but it has been an essential platform for informing and engaging the public, as it allowed our documentation to be widely shared and easily accessible to audiences around the world," explained sources at Al-Haq. "These are arbitrary sanctions imposed due to our commitment to the International Criminal Court, intended to weaken and isolate our organizations, including by restricting our communication platforms with the public and our partners," they added.

YouTube and Google they explained on the website The Intercept These channels have been deleted in response to sanctions imposed last August by the U.S. State Department. Washington sanctioned the Palestinian organizations for cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, against whom the court has indicted. has issued international arrest warrants to try them for war crimes. The United States does not recognize this tribunal and has also sanctioned the judges and prosecutors for prosecuting senior Israeli officials. Among the censored videos are testimonies from Palestinians tortured by Israeli forces and documentaries such as The beach, about children killed by an Israeli missile while playing on a beach in Gaza.

"They are silencing us"

“They are silencing us. It is a shameful case of censorship and an alarming attack on human rights and freedom of expression,” an Al Mezan spokesperson told ARA from Ramallah, adding, “[The channel suspension] prevents us from getting our message across and fulfilling our mission.” According to the spokesperson, YouTube did not warn them before deleting the channel and simply informed them that its content “violates the platform’s guidelines.” The spokesperson also warned that US sanctions are being “used to silence Palestinian voices and paralyze accountability.”

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, which has a long history of documenting Israeli abuses in the Strip and has also been active in filing complaints against Israel in international courts, expressed similar sentiments. In a statement, the organization asserted that YouTube’s decision “protects the perpetrators.” "Our work is primarily based on gathering evidence of the crimes committed against the Palestinian people: YouTube is complicit because it silences the voices of the victims," he says. The organizations are now seeking alternatives outside the US to host their content, fearing that other American platforms, such as Mailchimp, which has already closed similar accounts, will follow suit.