YouTube wipes out 700 videos depicting Israeli genocide during Gaza war

YouTube, a major tech giant, has wiped out at least 700 videos, highlighting human rights violations in Palestine during war and spotlighting Israeli offences and genocide in Gaza.

According to a report by The Intercept, the platform erased over 700 videos belonging to three prominent Palestinian rights groups: Al-Haq, Al Mezan Central for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

The videos had been deleted by the platform, showing the pain of the surviving mother in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the killing of Palestinian American journalist, and others that spotlight Israeli-imposed destruction in Gaza.

The videos were removed after a US campaign that bars accountability of Israelis for their war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, despite the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity in Gaza in October.

YouTube — owned by Google — confirmed accounts’ suspension, citing US trade and sanctions laws.

“Google is committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws,” YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle said in a statement.

Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Centre for Constitutional Rights, said the platform was furthering the US administration’s agenda of concealing evidence of human rights violations and war crimes from public view by wiping out the content.

A spokesperson from one of the terminated organisations, Al-Haq, said that their YouTube channel was terminated without prior warning, showcasing a serious failure to follow its own principles.