‘The Palestine Laboratory’ exposes Israel’s export of unique systems of control and surveillance technology around the world

• The film investigates how Israel has developed a “technology of occupation” in Palestine and profits from selling it globally.

• In the film, directed by Dan Davies, Australian-German Loewenstein returns to Israel during the Gaza war to investigate how the country uses the Palestinian territories as a laboratory to test weapons and surveillance technologies which it then sells around the world. 

In this two-part series, Al Jazeera English’s “The Palestine Laboratory” film, journalist Antony Loewenstein investigates how Israeli weapons and surveillance technologies are first used to control and repress Palestinians in Palestine before being sold all over the world.

In episode one, in Israel and Palestine, the film examines how Israel positions itself as a world leader in hi-tech weapons and surveillance technology, with glossy promotions from the top weapons manufacturers boasting that their products have been “tested” and “proven” in “battle”. Hearing from both Israelis and Palestinians, the film explores how the arms industry understands what labels like “tested” in Palestine mean and how the military intelligence Unit 8200 acts as an incubator for Israeli surveillance tech start-ups. In addition, it examines Israel’s use of AI targeting systems in Gaza.

Episode two of the investigation takes Loewenstein on an international journey to reveal how this “technology of occupation” is used to subjugate and surveil political dissidents, human rights activists and journalists all over the world, and how this surveillance and military technology developed by Israel and tested on Palestinians is marketed abroad. It reveals how the latest Israeli technology is being used to monitor refugees and migrants in Greece and along the US-Mexico border. Loewenstein visits Mexico to explore its use of Israeli spyware and travels to India to discover how a thriving arms trade fosters close links between the two nations. In South Africa, he uncovers a hidden aspect of the country’s history which saw a secret relationship between the apartheid-era government and Israel, centred on a clandestine arms trade and shared values.

The film further investigates how cutting-edge military and surveillance technology is being used on Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza before being marketed to international clients as “field-proven” and “battle-tested”.

Watch "The Palestine Laboratory" Episode 1 on Al Jazeera English at 12:00 GMT on 30th January 2025. Episode 2 will air on 6th February 2025 at 12:00 GMT and will also be available on the Al Jazeera English YouTube channel.