Google has responded following an Israeli statement that the company would collaborate to block "inflammatory" Palestinian videos on YouTube, denying the Jewish state's claim.
Top Israeli officials met with representatives from Google in Silicon Valley to discuss censoring Palestinian videos on YouTube, Israel’s Maariv newspaper reported last week.
However, on Monday a spokesperson for Google downplayed the meeting, saying it was merely, "one of many that we have with policymakers from different countries to explain our policies on controversial content, flagging and removals," according to Times of Israel .
"The Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs has corrected its original announcement which, in error, suggested there had been an agreement with Google to establish a mechanism to monitor online materials."
While a spokesperson for Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed the statement had been changed, he reiterated the confidence the Israeli government had in Google's support, saying Israel is, "extremely grateful for the good relations with Google. Our common objective is to remove dangerous incitement to violence on social media. We have full confidence in the Google teams dealing with this removal."
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely met with Google's senior counsel for public policy Juniper Downs and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki to discuss the possibility of monitoring and blocking "inflammatory" content posted by Palestinians on YouTube that Hotovely claims incites violence against Israeli citizens.
In the meetings, she discussed the "problem of incitement which goads small children to go out and stab innocents," according to an official Israeli statement that mentioned that the move was part of Israel's campaign against online incitement.
"The daily stabbings in Israel are a result of young boys and girls who are indoctrinated from an early age in the Palestinian education system and through social media," Hotovely said.
"We are engaged daily in confronting incitement to violence, a task which can benefit greatly from the cooperation of those companies that are involved in social media," she added.
Whether or not the agreement was made, Google has previously cooperated with Israel regarding Palestinian videos posted on YouTube that were allegedly inciting violence against Israeli citizens.
In October, which witnessed the renewed outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, Israeli officials confirmed that YouTube removed several Palestinian videos .
As a result of the escalating tensions and concerns about the rise of a third intifada in recent months, many videos documenting the ongoing violence have been shared on social media, which has increasingly become a driving force in the conflict.
Many social media users and bloggers have raised concerns about censorship resulting from a possible agreement between Google and Israel.
"The Israeli coordination with Google and YouTube has very serious implications, and many journalists have spoken out in opposition, saying it is a direct assault on the Freedom of the Press," Palestinian journalist Saed Bannoura wrote in AlterNet .
"There are so many problems with Hotovely’s claims, it’s hard to know where to start. But my major problem is with the issue of censorship," Jewish journalist and blogger Richard Silverstein wrote on his blog Tikun Olam .
"Has Google agreed to censor videos? Has it been pressured to remove videos which document violence, whether perpetrated by Israeli security forces or Palestinian protesters?"