Israel dislodges a controversial robotic weapon on the West Coast

Although loaded with non-dead and not fully automated ammunition, two robotic weapons at the top of a control tower equipped with surveillance cameras directed by the al-Aroub refugee camp in the West are part of a growing trend in Israel, Palestinian territories, and beyond to engage robots in war. Soldiers can activate robotic weapons from a distance to shoot the targets they want. Palestinians say these weapons have constantly flooded the nearby refugee camp with tear gas.

It shoots itself without creating any difficulties for the soldier. When the Israelite soldier sees a small boy, he presses a button and the gun shoots itself. It shoots faster than soldiers and can hit almost every corner of camp”, says Kamal Abu Hishesh, a 19-year-old resident of the al-Aroub camp, Voa.

Robotic weapons are being used more and more worldwide, with drones widely used from Ukraine to Ethiopia. Remote weapons, such as those Israel operates in the West Coast, have been used by the United States in Iraq, South Korea, along the border with North Korea, and by Syrian rebels. Robotic automatic weapons were produced by Israeli company “Smart Shocker”, which has signed contracts to sell weapons to armies of dozens of countries worldwide.

The company's president, Michigan Mor, says the weapon is not autonomous and envisions selecting targets and man's kind of ammunition.

The first “goal is to protect our soldiers by increasing the distance between them and the dangerous situation. The second goal is to reduce the number of innocent victims. With this weapon, a soldier is given the opportunity to carry out a very precise blow to legitimate goals. So instead of using a rocket, this smaller calibration weapon” can be used, he says.

Omar Shakir, director for Israel and Palestinian territories in the Human Rights Watch organisation, says that robot-gun French are the example of Israel's <x0th> falling towards digital dehumanisation of weapons systems” that remove the natural guarantees of human judgment in a complex conflict. He says French with robotic weapons would lower the risk for soldiers, but would increase the risk for Palestinians.

The Israeli military said through a statement that the use of autonomous weapons is regulated just like any other weapon in their arsenal, they will not use real or deadly bullets and will be operated only by trained soldiers. Using such technologies, Mr. Shakir says Israel is creating “a powder keg” for human rights abuse.

When you combine this technology with an army that uses excessive, proportional, illegal force, you create a powder barrel for human rights abuse. And I fear that this system will further burden the human rights situation, their violations by the Israeli army and the Israeli government's crimes against millions of Palestinians”, he says.

Violence on the West Coast has increased in recent months. Israel has stepped up raids and arrests following a number of Palestinian attacks within Israel, in which 19 people were killed last spring. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, this year is the deadliest since 2015, with 124 killed. Israel says the raids are intended to dismantle militant infrastructure and prevent future attacks and that it has been forced to act due to the failure of Palestinian security forces.

Palestinians say the incidents in their cities have strengthened Israel's control over lands they want for their country. The UN says Israeli forces attack the al-Aroub camp more often than any other refugee camp in the West Coast.