"Meta profits as ads promote illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank", 31 March 2025

Facebook has platformed more than 100 paid advertisements promoting illegal settlements and far-right settler activity in the occupied West Bank, an Al Jazeera investigation has found, raising concerns that the social media giant is profiting from content that may violate international law.

Among the advertisements identified were also calls for the demolition of Palestinian homes, schools, and playgrounds, as well as fundraising appeals for Israeli military units operating in Gaza.

Facebook’s parent company Meta told Al Jazeera that any advertisements that ran on its platforms were reviewed by the company. While it admitted that some of the advertisements had since been removed for “violating our social issues, elections, and politics policies”, it did not specify whether the promotion of illegal settlements built on stolen Palestinian land breached those standards.

Legal experts told Al Jazeera that Meta could be complicit in violations of international law by approving, accepting payment, and publishing these advertisements. Brian Leishman, an MP in the United Kingdom parliament, described the findings as “extremely concerning”.

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Among the advertisements identified by Al Jazeera were at least four promoting property sales in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, 20km (12 miles) east of the Green Line in the occupied West Bank. The listings, written in Hebrew and targeting Israeli Facebook users, were paid for by a Facebook page called “Ramat Aderet”, which describes itself as offering “penthouses for a perfect quality of life”.

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Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. The transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Professor Aoife O’Donoghue, international law expert from Queen’s University Belfast, said: “On the West Bank, property can be privately bought and sold. However, whether they have the legal title to sell that land at all would be highly questionable.

“If the Israeli government is facilitating it, and they are settlements, then they would be in violation of the Third Geneva Convention. Here, the Israeli government has a duty to prevent illegal settlements.”

Settler groups pushing for demolitions

Al Jazeera also identified 50 advertisements posted by Regavim, a far-right settler group founded by Smotrich in 2006, that has called for the destruction of Palestinian homes, schools, and a children’s water park. The group receives funding from the Israeli government via the West Bank settlement councils, and also Amana, another pro-settlement organisation sanctioned by the UK and US governments.

The European Union has previously condemned the demolition of schools in the West Bank, and Human Rights Watch has described the practice as “discriminatory and violates children’s right to education”.

In October last year, nearly 90 US legislators urged then-President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on Regavim.

Regavim denies being a far-right or settler group, instead claiming to be a “mainstream, professional contributor to public discourse and is a frequent participant in national policy discussion and debate”.

But Leishman, the British MP, said: “Revelations that Israeli far-right pro-settler groups as well as businesses – and allegedly even active Israeli soldiers – may be using social media to promote what could be seen as illegal under international law are extremely concerning.”

Facebook fundraisers for Israeli soldiers in Gaza

Beyond settlement expansion, Meta has also platformed fundraising advertisements for Israeli military units operating in Gaza, even after a ceasefire was declared.

Legal experts say allowing such advertisements may violate international humanitarian law by promoting military operations in occupied territory.

Nine advertisements, paid for by Israeli singer Mayer Malik, sought donations for sniper teams, drone units, and special forces battalions deployed in Gaza. One advertisement, still active on Facebook, reads: “We urgently need shooting tripods to complete our mission in Jabalia.”

Other advertisements requested funding for drones for the Yasar Battalion and an elite Israeli army unit in Rafah, as well as night-vision goggles for the Golani Brigade.

Malik did not respond to two requests for comment from Al Jazeera.

According to Meta’s advertising guidelines, “Ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition or explosives. This includes ads for weapon modification accessories.”

Professor Neve Gordon of Queen Mary University, UK, said: “Facebook is making money from criminal activity.

“By allowing third parties to post such ads, Facebook becomes complicit in their criminal activity, since the ads themselves play a role in whitewashing, normalising and legitimising acts that, according to international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, are egregious crimes.”

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