https://arab.news/cjxqh
- The New Humanitarian found that at least 39 firms flagged by the UN for settlement-related activity later bought ad space, including one for an ‘IDF Shooting Adventure’ in which participants shoot at cutouts of ‘terrorists’
- Findings represent a significant escalation in the documented scale of Big Tech’s involvement, could amount to complicity in violations of international law
LONDON: Google and Meta have run more than 100,000 advertisements of businesses formally listed by the UN as facilitating illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, a new investigation by The New Humanitarian has found.
The probe, published earlier this week, cross-referenced the two tech giants’ publicly available ad libraries against a UN human rights office database of 158 companies identified as operating in or profiting from settlement activity, including construction, demolition, surveillance, resource extraction, and pollution on Palestinian land.
Of the 158 firms on the list, 39 purchased advertising space from Google, Meta, or both after their inclusion on the UN database.
A further three had bought ads before being listed, while at least seven businesses recently ran ads directly tied to settlement products and services, among them West Bank housing developments, an expedited gun license program, and heavy machinery used in the demolition of Palestinian property.
One ad, hosted on Google, sponsored Caliber 3, a company based in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem, which Haaretz has described as an “anti-terror fantasy camp.”
Its campaign includes an “IDF Shooting Adventure,” billed as an “educational experience,” in which participants fire .22 caliber rifles and 12-gauge shotguns at cutouts of “terrorists” — depicted in videos on the company’s website as Arab men wearing the keffiyeh.
Among the other ads were campaigns for at least seven real estate and development firms flagged by the UN for building illegal settlements, and one for Comasco, a supplier of construction and demolition machinery used to destroy Palestinian homes and build settlements in the West Bank.
Some advertisers are less directly tied to settlement activity. Israel’s national water company Mekorot has run ads for infrastructure projects spanning both Israel and occupied territory.
The accommodation platforms Booking.com, Airbnb, and Tripadvisor — all listed by the UN for “supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements” — account for the bulk of the ads identified.
The findings represent a significant escalation in the documented scale of Big Tech’s involvement.
A 2025 Al Jazeera investigation had identified over 100 ads on Facebook alone promoting settlement housing and seeking donations for Israeli military units active in the Gaza Strip.
The New Humanitarian noted, however, that previous coverage had either focused on specific platforms or individual companies buying ad space — with the new tally now dwarfing all prior findings.
“This investigation has identified dozens of such companies and represents the most systematic examination of the digital advertising ecosystem aiding Israel’s occupation of the West Bank to date,” wrote Oliver Wood, the researcher behind the investigation.
“It sheds light on a crucial yet undercovered digital and financial aspect of Israel’s colonisation of the West Bank.”
The New Humanitarian said neither Google nor Meta had responded to requests for comment.
Meta has previously acknowledged that some advertisements were allowed to run in breach of its own policies.
According to their advertising standards, both Meta and Google prohibit listing locally illegal products or services, hateful conduct, dangerous organizations, content that coordinates harm or promotes crime, and discriminatory practices.
Neither company, however, has an explicit policy category covering products or services associated with internationally illegal territorial activity — a gap that allows settlement-related ads to slip through.
Such content sits in a grey area: Real estate advertising falls under Meta’s Special Ad Categories, which restrict targeting options and require advertisers to declare the category upfront to prevent discriminatory practices, while political or social issue ads require a “Paid for by” disclaimer and identity verification.
Experts said that while the ads may violate the tech giants’ own guidelines, providing a platform for organizations flagged by the UN for their activities in illegal settlements “constitutes a clear failure of their due diligence obligations” — and could amount to complicity in violations of international law.
When previously challenged by Al Jazeera, Meta said some ads had been removed for violating its “social issues, elections, and politics” policies but declined to confirm whether settlement promotion itself was prohibited.
Among the advertisers previously identified on Facebook was Regavim, a far-right settler organization co-founded by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Regavim’s ads called for the demolition of Palestinian homes, schools, and a children’s water park.
The group is partly funded by the Israeli government through West Bank settlement councils and is affiliated with Amana, a pro-settlement body sanctioned by both the UK and US governments.
The latest investigation comes weeks after Palestinian digital rights group 7amleh accused Meta of operating a “dual system” that monetizes Israeli settler content — including pages promoting settlement expansion and violence against Palestinians — while systematically locking Palestinian users out of the same revenue-generating tools.
Settlement expansion in the West Bank has accelerated sharply over the past two years.
According to 7amleh’s report, 41 new settlements were approved or legalized in 2025 alone, with at least 44 Palestinian communities displaced during the same period, affecting more than 2,900 people.
In a related development on Tuesday, 7amleh said Microsoft has removed misleading Israeli designations — Judea and Samaria — used in the occupied West Bank and included Palestinian geographical names in its digital maps in accordance with international law.