Report: Meta Monetizes Israeli Extremist Content While Restricting Palestinian Digital Rights

Meta Accused of Double Standard: Sanctioned Settler Groups Profit While Palestinian Voices Are Silenced

A new report by the digital rights group 7amleh has accused Meta of operating a “two-tier system” on its platforms, financially rewarding Israeli settler pages that promote violence and illegal settlement expansion, while systematically excluding Palestinian creators from monetization tools . The findings have prompted over 40 international organizations to urge the tech giant to cease what they describe as “financially enabling” settler violence against Palestinians .

Dual System: Monetizing Violence, Excluding Palestinian Voices

According to 7amleh’s report, titled “Monetizing Occupation: Meta’s Financial Enablement of Settlement Activity and Violent Rhetoric Against Palestinians,” Meta allows Israeli right-wing pages, settler-affiliated accounts, and extremist media outlets to generate revenue, despite publishing violent, racist, and inciting content against Palestinians . The report documents dozens of pages profiting from Meta’s monetization schemes, including some directly linked to the settlement movement and to attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank .

A key group identified in the report is Hilltop Youth, representing an organized faction of Israeli extremist settlers who have engaged in so-called “price tag” attacks. The group has been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for violence against Palestinians .

Nadim Nashif, executive director and co-founder of 7amleh, stated that Meta is “allowing violent content that violates its own community standards, incentivising those page owners to continue posting in such manners, to continue creating content that is racist and violent by giving them money for such content” .

In stark contrast, the report finds that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are completely excluded from monetization programs solely based on their geographic location, as “Palestine is not included in the company’s eligible countries list” . This creates a digital economy where “Palestinian journalists, content creators, media outlets, and civil society organizations are structurally denied access to economic tools available to others” .

International Sanctions on Hilltop Youth

The Hilltop Youth group has faced sanctions from multiple countries. The United States imposed sanctions on the group on April 17, 2026, citing their involvement in killings, mass arson, and “price tag” attacks against Palestinian villages . The Treasury Department said the group has carried out killings and mass arson, with rights groups and Palestinians reporting the group is behind attacks in retaliation for perceived efforts to hamper settlement construction . The EU had already designated the group under its restrictive measures against serious human rights violations, imposing asset freezes and travel restrictions .

Despite these international sanctions, 7amleh’s report finds that the group’s page continues to monetize content on Meta platforms .

Call for Accountability and Policy Change

In response to the findings, over 40 international organizations, including ActionAid International, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Jewish Voice for Peace, and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, have urged Meta to :

• End the blanket exclusion from monetization based on geographic or national origin, including the exclusion of Palestinian creators from monetization programs
• Ensure consistent enforcement of Meta’s Partner Monetization Policies across all regions, suspending accounts that promote violence regardless of political or national affiliation
• Establish regular, independent audits of monetized accounts in conflict-affected regions
• Conduct heightened human rights due diligence into Meta’s monetization programs to identify and mitigate risks of contributing to violations of international law

The report concludes that Meta’s policies “create a dual system: on one hand, Palestinian digital and economic participation is suppressed; on the other, pages that promote settlement activity, violence, and incitement against Palestinians are financially rewarded” . This has been described as building “a digital economy around apartheid, settler violence, attacks, racist incitement and impunity” .

Comparative Content Enforcement

The discrepancies extend beyond monetization to content moderation. 7amleh notes that Meta removes, limits visibility, or demonetizes Palestinian content even when it complies with platform policies, while similar or more extreme Hebrew-language content linked to settler networks remains active and monetized . This pattern, the report argues, reflects a structural imbalance in platform governance, where Palestinian voices are both suppressed and economically disadvantaged on platforms that claim to offer equal opportunity .

Key Takeaways

• Monetizing Extremism: Meta permits pages linked to sanctioned settler groups, including Hilltop Youth, to monetize content promoting violence and illegal settlements .
• Sanctioned Group: Hilltop Youth has been sanctioned by the U.S., EU, and UK for violence against Palestinians (asset freezes and travel bans) .
• Exclusion of Palestinians: Palestinian creators are entirely excluded from monetization based on geographic location, while Israeli settler content generates revenue .
• Global Response: Over 40 organizations demand Meta end its discriminatory monetization policies .
• Policy Failure: Meta is accused of violating its own community standards and international human rights law .
• Structural Imbalance: Palestinian content is disproportionately removed or restricted, while similar Hebrew content remains active .

Sources include reporting by The New Arab, Middle East Eye, and the AP; and research by 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media.

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