Israeli far-right groups have been using Facebook and other Meta platforms to run ads for illegal Israeli settlements and fund raising for Israeli military units currently active in West Bank and Gaza, which is a total violation of not only the international law, but also Meta’s ads policy, as reported by by Aljazeera. More than 100 ads are promoting demolition of structures in the West Bank of Palestine, the sale of property in the West Bank and fundraising for military equipment for the Israeli military. Shockingly, one of Meta’s ads policy guidelines reads, “Ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition or explosives. This includes ads for weapon modification accessories.” But still Meta seems totally unaware of their running on its platforms.
Although Mata claims that all ads that run on its platforms are thoroughly checked as per its ads policy before publishing, almost 52 ads being run by Israeli real estate companies were found to be promoting the sale of property in the occupied West Bank, violating the international law and against Third Geneva Convention. One of the real estate companies, Ram Aderet, was found to be running 4 ads promoting property sale in Ariel, which is 20 km east of the Green Line in the occupied West Bank. This company receives funding from the First International Bank of Israel. The same bank has remained controversial due to its role in financing illegal settlements, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has also called for its boycott due to the same reason.
Image: Aljazeera
48 ads were run by Gabai real estate promoting settlements in the occupied West Bank areas of Ma’ale Adumim and the Efrat. This project also has the backing of Israel whose Higher Planning Committee approved this expansion in March 2024. The co-owner of the company has also expressed his intentions behind the project openly, “Unfortunately, we were only able to post 48 ads because our budget is limited, and we advertise on many different platforms. But as we sell more homes to Jews returning home to Judea, our advertising budget will increase, and we can post more.”
Undoubtedly, Meta knows that such ads promoting settlements in the occupied regions is a war crime under the international law and that it is actively involved in it. Neither Meta can deny their existence, nor it can dissociate itself from being complicit.
Other far-right Israeli groups, like Regavim and Amana, have gone even further to run ads on Meta platforms asking for demolitions of structures in the West Bank area. One of the ads run by Regamin, which is also funded by the Israeli government, reads, “Following our petition, Civil Administration forces tore down an illegal Palestinian school built in the Herodian Nature Reserve… This school is only one out of more than 100 illegal school buildings.”
To get away with all this, these groups consistently cover their acts with words which are outwardly positive. Regavim commented on its role being a settler group and the accusations against it that it is, “professional contributor to public discourse and is a frequent participant in national policy discussion and debate”.
Some 9 ads run by an Israeli singer, Mayer Malik, even asked for fundraising for Israeli drone units, sniper units and special battalions currently involved in Gaza and the West Bank genocide. One of the ads reads, “We urgently need shooting tripods to complete our mission in Jabalia.” Such open disregard of its policies in the case of Israel made many intellectuals speak against Meta. Professor Neve Gordon of Queen Mary University commented on Meta’s role in supporting crimes committed by Israel, “Facebook is making money from criminal activity. By allowing third parties to post such ads, Facebook becomes complicit in their criminal activity, since the ads themselves play a role in whitewashing, normalising and legitimising acts that, according to international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, are egregious crimes.”
That is why when Meta was asked about its position regarding these ads, it did not explicitly state that these organizations, settler groups or Israel sponsored companies are running ads against its policies and that they would be banned for this, but only said that it had removed some of such ads.
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Although Mata claims that all ads that run on its platforms are thoroughly checked as per its ads policy before publishing, almost 52 ads being run by Israeli real estate companies were found to be promoting the sale of property in the occupied West Bank, violating the international law and against Third Geneva Convention. One of the real estate companies, Ram Aderet, was found to be running 4 ads promoting property sale in Ariel, which is 20 km east of the Green Line in the occupied West Bank. This company receives funding from the First International Bank of Israel. The same bank has remained controversial due to its role in financing illegal settlements, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has also called for its boycott due to the same reason.
48 ads were run by Gabai real estate promoting settlements in the occupied West Bank areas of Ma’ale Adumim and the Efrat. This project also has the backing of Israel whose Higher Planning Committee approved this expansion in March 2024. The co-owner of the company has also expressed his intentions behind the project openly, “Unfortunately, we were only able to post 48 ads because our budget is limited, and we advertise on many different platforms. But as we sell more homes to Jews returning home to Judea, our advertising budget will increase, and we can post more.”
Undoubtedly, Meta knows that such ads promoting settlements in the occupied regions is a war crime under the international law and that it is actively involved in it. Neither Meta can deny their existence, nor it can dissociate itself from being complicit.
Other far-right Israeli groups, like Regavim and Amana, have gone even further to run ads on Meta platforms asking for demolitions of structures in the West Bank area. One of the ads run by Regamin, which is also funded by the Israeli government, reads, “Following our petition, Civil Administration forces tore down an illegal Palestinian school built in the Herodian Nature Reserve… This school is only one out of more than 100 illegal school buildings.”
To get away with all this, these groups consistently cover their acts with words which are outwardly positive. Regavim commented on its role being a settler group and the accusations against it that it is, “professional contributor to public discourse and is a frequent participant in national policy discussion and debate”.
Some 9 ads run by an Israeli singer, Mayer Malik, even asked for fundraising for Israeli drone units, sniper units and special battalions currently involved in Gaza and the West Bank genocide. One of the ads reads, “We urgently need shooting tripods to complete our mission in Jabalia.” Such open disregard of its policies in the case of Israel made many intellectuals speak against Meta. Professor Neve Gordon of Queen Mary University commented on Meta’s role in supporting crimes committed by Israel, “Facebook is making money from criminal activity. By allowing third parties to post such ads, Facebook becomes complicit in their criminal activity, since the ads themselves play a role in whitewashing, normalising and legitimising acts that, according to international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, are egregious crimes.”
Why Is Meta Being Complicit in the Case of Israel?
Meta is an American company which explains a lot about it allowing Israeli organizations to run ads violating the international law and Meta’s policies. The Israeli lobby is too strong in the USA to stop it from posting such ads on Meta’s platforms. The US government has been the biggest supporter of the genocide by Israel, which has so far provided it with more than $12 billion dollars in military aid since the start of the latest clashes. Any anti-Israel action in the US has seen a strong reaction from the lobby and the government too. So anything pro-American is also, in other words, pro-Israeli, which it can use as it wants to, whether it is military equipment or social media.That is why when Meta was asked about its position regarding these ads, it did not explicitly state that these organizations, settler groups or Israel sponsored companies are running ads against its policies and that they would be banned for this, but only said that it had removed some of such ads.
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