Macron Asks Bennett for ‘Clarifications’ Over Pegasus
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Following global reports on Israeli Pegasus spyware targetting French President Emmanuel Macron, President calls occupation Prime Minister Bennett for ‘clarifications.’
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French President Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron asked Israeli occupation Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for clarifications over the use of Pegasus to spy on him and several other French figures during a phone call between the two on Saturday.
Previously, French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said that President Macron had summoned the Defense and National Security Council to hold a special session regarding the possibility of Macron's phone being targeted by the Israeli Pegasus spyware.
The French authorities announced Thursday that they made security adjustments, especially those related to President Macron in the light of the Pegasus scandal.
Reuters said, quoting a French presidency official, "French President Emmanuel Macron has changed his phone and phone number in light of the Pegasus spyware case."
The security measures and the call with Bennett come after international investigations reported that Pegasus spyware targeted prominent and influential figures all around the globe, including politicians and journalists.
French and foreign reports, in which 17 international news agencies participated, had mentioned that French President Emmanuel Macron was among several heads of states believed to have been targeted by the spyware, according to Le Parisien.
Le Monde reported Monday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed requested spying on several Lebanese politicians and journalists, including President Michel Aoun, through Israeli NSO Group's Pegasus.
Shalev Hulio, CEO and co-founder of NSO Group, denied Le Monde's "allegations," stating that the French president was not among Pegasus's targets.
Israeli "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper said that the French want to know if "Israel" had probed into NSO Group and whether it intends to intensify control over the export of offensive cyberware.
Pegasus spyware is considered the world's most advanced spyware in terms of hacking phones, as the spyware allows its users to take all data from the device, including messages, even the encrypted ones, and images, without leaving any trail behind.
Human rights organizations, media outlets, the European Union, and several governments condemned Monday what reports revealed about worldwide spy attacks that targeted activists, journalists, and politicians through the Israeli NSO Group-developed Pegasus spyware.
A few days ago, several new names popped up on the Pegasus target list in an article published by The Washington Post, and the names include those of current and former Presidents and Prime Ministers.
Despite the international reports that came out about Pegasus, 'Israel' did not officially announce opening a probe into the case. However, two Israeli sources alleged Wednesday that the Israeli occupation government "has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess growing allegations that spyware sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale."
