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This is how the US restricts high-res satellite pics of 'Israel'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: NPR
16 Nov 2023 16:40
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Satellite imagery analyst Matt Korda says that the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment exists is indication that "Israel" is treated differently than other countries.

A satellite view shows smoke along the Gaza-Israel border on Oct. 7 in an image combining natural with shortwave-infrared highlights (Copernicus Sentinel Data 2023)

A recently published report by National Public Radio shows how the availability of satellite imaging by US satellites is subject to Israeli exceptionalism. This restraint of shielding "Israel" from eyes in the sky has been codified by the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment, according to a report published by NPR.

US companies have long been subject to restrictions regarding the quality of satellite pictures they could sell that might put Israeli interests at stake. These restrictions extend to all occupied territories, including Gaza.

Typically, restrictions are imposed by countries on satellite imagery of sensitive locations within their borders, this law, however, is the only one of its kind that safeguards images of a "country", according to NPR..

Restriction on 'Israel' does not even apply to US

Under the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment (KBA), the Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA), a division of the US' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), can issue US licenses for collecting or distributing satellite images of "Israel".

For over two decades, the quality limit was fixed at 2 meters resolution. In 2020, the CRSRA sharply lowered the KBA's allowed resolution, from 2 meters to 0.40 meters. What this means effectively is that one pixel in a satellite image of occupied Palestine can now depict a square on the ground measuring 40 centimeters by 40 centimeters, the report explained.

"This restriction doesn't even apply to the US homeland and territories", satellite imagery analyst Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists told NPR.

"The fact that the KBA even exists is a clear indication that Israel is treated differently than other countries [by the US]" Korda added.

Israeli leaders were unhappy with the change in 2020, however. "We would always prefer to be photographed at the lowest resolution possible," said retired Brigadier General Amnon Harari, head of "Israel's" space programs, at the time. "It's always preferable to be seen blurred, rather than precisely," he further explained.