Satellite imagery of Palestine and Israel also makes reconstruction difficult

Recent waves Violence between Israel and Palestine ended on May 20, with both sides agreeing to end the war.

The Gaza Strip suffered heavy casualties, with warplanes killing more than 230 people and destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses. The program of New York Times explained the place as a “sea of ​​ruins,” since several hospitals, power lines, schools, toilets, and roads were damaged or destroyed.

The Palestinian people are now embarking on a long-term reconstruction effort, with the help of humanitarian organizations, and are looking back at the conflict on signs of human rights abuses, with the help of investigative journalists. But the work is growing and becoming cheaper due to the lack of good satellite images of Israel and Palestine in free map tools.

Far from violence, open researchers on Twitter realized areas like Gaza seem less secure on platforms like Google Earth, which collects satellite images from a variety of sources. The reason for this is a well-known US law, called the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment, which prohibits American companies from providing high-quality satellite imagery in the region, due to the Israeli crisis. The rules were removed last year, and the border is now similar to that adopted in some lands. Many satellite broadcasters, such as Planet Labs, have quickly changed their content, while popular free tools, including Google Earth, have not.

Comparisons between images provided by Planet Labs and available on Google Earth show significant differences in opinion.

High-resolution images can detect the shape of a building, calculate any prices, identify traffic on the road, and calculate traffic lines. They show the diversity of colors, the exact shape of objects such as circles and blocks. And for free services, Israeli and Palestinian satellite imagery is not updated more frequently than in other parts of the world. For example, on Google Earth, some parts of New York City have a variety of satellite images for 2020, while other parts of Gaza City have five satellites over the last 35 years.

This makes for a huge difference for the underprivileged, including aid agencies that are trying to help the Palestinian people in the reconstruction work.

Risks and Extras

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been active in Israel and Palestine since the 1960s, providing medical and other assistance to people during and after violence. It also helps communities rebuild. The ICRC is currently rehabilitating water machines, power networks, and toilets on the Gaza Strip.

Many of these activities involve the use of satellite imagery. “During wartime, we use photographs to determine the amount of damage and damage,” said Christoph Hanger, a spokesman for the ICRC. And when he is allowed to go to war, he uses photographs to correct his movements. After the war, “new satellite images are needed to make changes to the ground,” said Hanger, to see how the eagles affect buildings and structures and identify areas to be shown.

Images provided by free tools like Google Earth are too cluttered for the ICRC to use. Negative change, Hanger says, “increases the likelihood of interpreting the images and as a result leads to a less effective solution.” As a result, he adds, the agency is being forced to use satellite image providers, which are more expensive, and require more publicity.

Incomprehensible Evidence

Satellite imagery also affects people living far away from Israel and Palestine – digital researchers are pouring images and videos of the conflict to identify human rights abuses. They use the information available on the Internet, including video footage, images and videos produced by Israelis and Palestinians, and satellite images that are available on free devices such as Google Earth.