Technological placebos: Israeli town residents welcome state surveillance after Muslim invasion

Residents of Be’er Yaakov in central Israel are cheering their municipality’s decision to erect surveillance cameras after the country was invaded by Muslim forces Saturday.

Israel declared a “state of war” after Muslims entered Israel from Gaza early Saturday morning. The invaders, said to be Hamas operatives, easily overpowered local police and military forces and massacred over 600 Israelis in nearby Israeli communities. Over 2,000 Israelis were injured and several dozen hostages were abducted into Hamas-controlled Gaza. Israeli forces have been deployed to regain control of the area.

Authorities have offered no explanations for how Israel’s sophisticated surveillance technology and highly trained military were rendered ineffective.

In a video posted to Facebook Saturday afternoon, Be’er Yaakov officials and military personnel announced that at least two mobile surveillance cameras were being stationed at the town’s entrances and exits. Mayor Nissim Gozlan explained that with each camera carrying a visibility range of one kilometer, authorities could see a kilometer in every direction near the town’s border.

Be’er Yaakov did not immediately respond to a Frontline News request for comment.

Although Be’er Yaakov, which neighbors Tel Aviv, lies approximately 40 miles from the Gaza Strip and was not near the invaded areas, residents cheered the government’s decision.

“Well done!” several Israelis commented on the municipality’s post as they expressed their pride in Mayor Gozlan, whom they called their “champion.” One resident asked Gozlan to block the town’s entrances and vet each entrant. Another requested even more cameras.

The responses were in stark contrast to last month’s public outcry after Israel’s government signaled it would authorize police surveillance of taxpayers without a court order. The Knesset (Parliament) granted preliminary approval for a bill allowing police use of facial recognition surveillance cameras in public spaces.

Another provision in the bill retroactively legalized the police’s Hawk Eye program which uses license plate recognition (LPR) cameras to track vehicles “just in case their vehicle is involved in a crime in the future.” Police reportedly maintain a massive database containing data on the movements of vehicles belonging to taxpayers across Israel.