Returning the Gaze of Surveillance: The Murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh

Abstract

The murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh in Jenin refugee camp in May 2022 has generated extensive debate about how she was killed. Israeli authorities claimed that Abu Aqleh was killed by Palestinian gunfire, circulating a video captured by Palestinian fighters from the morning of Abu Aqleh’s death that showed the use of arms within the camp. Yet independent investigations have shown that this video—captured and circulated by Palestinians to document resistance activities— was used, in conjunction with other evidence, to disprove Israeli authorities’ claim. In this paper, I examine the role of the datafication of everyday life, the authority of interpretation, and the importance of counter-data production as a disruptive tactic in the aftermath of Abu Aqleh’s murder. In contemporary conflicts, we can observe how data extracted from our enabling of becoming increasingly archivable subjects are framed and articulated as objective, even neutral, material evidence. In conjunction with the spectacle of political rhetoric and military theatrics, an asymmetric interpretation and subsequent instrumentalization of digital archives obstruct the inclusion of those subjected to harm as interpreters of their own experiences, shaping public perceptions and further exposing oppressed populations to continued violence. To challenge the material effects of these narratives, counter-data are produced to invert and disrupt a largely unilateral authoritative gaze. These interventions not only push against and reappropriate the generation and collection of data but also challenge the authority to access and interpret it. Grounded in critical security studies, post-colonial studies, as well as other critical bodies of work, this paper uses the case of Abu Aqleh’s murder to demonstrate how the surveillance and selective framing of data are used to distort conflict and structure warfare.