Event Summary
In October 2025, more than 700 videos documenting alleged Israeli violations of international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory were permanently removed from the video-sharing platform YouTube. The deleted content included testimonies and investigations into the killing of Palestinian journalists, and visual evidence of home demolitions and forced displacement in the West Bank. Over the years, these organisations had built extensive digital archives containing verified footage that served as crucial documentation of human rights abuses and evidence for international accountability mechanisms.
The content removal was due to complete deletion of the official YouTube accounts of three major Palestinian human rights organizations — Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). Youtube reportedly confirmed that the deletion was as a direct result of United States’ sanctions against the organisations for their engagements with the International Criminal Court regarding investigations of alleged war crimes by Israel in Gaza.
This has raised serious concerns among digital rights advocates, who argue that removing such archives represents a direct assault on transparency, accountability, and freedom of information. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reportedly have criticised YouTube’s actions stating it “protects perpetrators from accountability”. The deletion occurred amid ongoing restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on civil society operations, humanitarian access, and independent documentation.