“Genocide is automated and, at the same time, it is used as a shield to avoid responsibility for an attack.” With this forceful reflection, the Sumar parliamentary group has asked the Government this Friday to suspend technological collaboration with Israel, coinciding with the fact that the Executive is “pressuring” the European Commission to review relations with Israel due to “concerns about human rights and democratic principles”.
The deputies Tesh Sidi (Más Madrid), Enrique Santiago (IU), Gerardo Pisarello and Gala Pin (both from En Comú Podem) argue that their instance is in line with what was launched in 2022 by the Executive with Russia and Belarus as Soon Moscow began its military offensive against Ukraine. And for this reason they have signed a written question to the Government to which La Vanguardia has had access and for which they criticize the recent meeting between Spanish and Israeli companies to promote mutual collaboration in security matters.
Sumar parliamentarians accuse Israel of committing “genocide” against the Palestinian population in Gaza, with more than 28,000 dead since it began its offensive following the Hamas terrorist attack. “And to a large extent this is possible,” they add, “due to the firm commitment to the use of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for military purposes.”
The deputies of the plurinational group admit that this “does not mean that it is necessarily military technology that serves the State of Israel in its genocidal desire.” But they slip that technological advances and civil digital infrastructure are “key elements to sustaining the apartheid regime and the massacre”, citing for example the system called Habsora (The Gospel) used by the Israeli armed forces.
Habsora in an algorithmic set that allows “identifying and selecting the bombing targets, inferring the number of people who are in the area.” As revealed in an investigation carried out by the Israeli magazine 972 and Local Call, “we have gone from achieving 50 objectives a year to 100 in one day, 50% of which end in an attack.”
“That is, the genocide is automated and, at the same time, it is used as a shield to evade responsibility for an attack,” denounce the four Sumar deputies before recalling that, as the experts certify, “it is also not possible to know “what criteria this technology has used to suggest an attack, as well as question them, preventing the ability to assess the risk of harm to civilians.”
For this reason, they refer to the information disseminated by the National Cybersecurity Institute of Spain about the meeting last Wednesday with the participation of ten Israeli companies along with other Spanish companies for the “promotion of synergies and strategic alliances.”
The Sumar parliamentarians reproach that this meeting coincides with a moment in which the Spanish Government is “pressuring” the European Commission to review relations with Israel due to “concerns about human rights and democratic principles.”
He then alludes to the fact that Israel is recognized for its advanced cybersecurity technology, as demonstrated by the fact that members of the Spanish Government, including President Pedro Sánchez, have been “spied on” using Israeli software, specifically the Pegasus program, which was also used. with independence leaders.
“What are the standards of human rights violations and international humanitarian law that the Government has to suspend its collaboration in technology and innovation with a third state?” concludes Sumar.