NEW YORK, 07 Nov. - (ANA) - Video sharing platform YouTube has taken down over 700 videos documenting Israeli human rights violations due to US sanctions against Palestinian human rights groups.

 

The videos come from Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and include videos analysing Israel's killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and testimony of Palestinians tortured by Israeli forces, among others.

 

The three rights groups have been sanctioned by the US over their support for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

 

YouTube, which is owned by Google, confirmed that it had removed the videos in a statement given to The Intercept, citing US sanctions against the three groups.

 

"Google is committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying to The Intercept.

 

According to Al Mezan, the group's YouTube channel was deleted on 7 October without notification, while Al-Haq said its channel was deleted on 3 October, with YouTube saying its "content violates our guidelines."

 

Al-Haq also said that Mailchimp, a mailing list service, had also deleted the group's account in September.

 

The deletion of the three groups' YouTube accounts means over 700 videos have been deleted.

 

The groups said that they fear other online locations could be targeted by US sanctions, as much digital infrastructure, including video platforming services, is US-based.

 

Al-Haq said that it was searching for non-US services where it can host the organisation's work.

 

The sanctioning of the three groups comes as the US cracks down on criticism of Israel domestically and internationally.

 

It has also sanctioned the ICC for its charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as outspoken UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

 

In 2021, Al-Haq was designated a terrorist group by Israel in a move that was blasted by the UN.

 

YouTube's parent company, Google, has cracked down on dissent within the company over its partnership with the Israeli military during Israel's war on Gaza, which includes cloud and AI services.

 

Google has also ran advertisements for Israel denying that there was any starvation in Gaza, despite hundreds of people dying of famine as Israel imposed a siege.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/07 November 2025 - - -