Israeli cabinet to vote on panel to probe IOF use of spyware

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Aug 2023 18:36

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has accused the police, the prosecution, and the media of being biased against him.

A person types on a laptop keyboard, June 19, 2017 (AP)

The Israeli cabinet is set to vote on Sunday on whether to create a panel to investigate the improper use of spyware by the occupation forces, Israeli sources reported on Sunday.

Israeli media said on Saturday that Justice Minister Yariv Levin plans to submit his proposed committee for cabinet approval at the next meeting on Sunday, and it is expected to be formed within a month.

The reports noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not vote on the matter due to his potential conflict of interest, as he is currently on trial for corruption.

Last month, Justice Minister Levin announced that he would create a commission to assess the use of spyware tools by the police.

The investigation would include a probe into the use of a tool similar to Pegasus, an Israeli-made spyware widely known to enable access to cell phones, laptops, and other sorts of technological devices.

On August 22, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara advised Justice Minister Levin that the commission should not investigate any ongoing or pending cases, as this could interfere with the judicial process.

She noted that the commission must avoid examining Netanyahu’s corruption cases as this could result in serious implications, one of which is that spyware may have been used by occupation forces or state prosecution to gather information pertaining to charges against Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has accused the police, the prosecution, and the media of being biased against him.

Levin said it was "unthinkable" that Baharav-Miara would interfere in the case as the Attorney General's Office is a potential subject of the commission's investigation.

The Shin Bet security agency and the National Security Council have expressed concerns about the formation of the committee, fearing that it could lead to the leaking of sensitive information.

The IOF, who had been using spyware tools until they were mostly confiscated following an interim report that looked into allegations of misuse, warned that the new committee would only make the situation worse.

"Police under a committee is the last thing we need in these difficult days and while fighting crime, especially in the Arab community," an IOF official told Ynet, while making reference to an alleged crime wave in the Palestinian community which he says the occupation forces has been unable to contain.

"Such a committee will stall the restoration of the technological tools for many more months. The committee will cause a difficult situation in the SIGINT division, in terms of the fact that people will have to hire lawyers," the official added.

According to the Yisrael Hayom daily, sources close to Justice Minister Levin said that the IOF would have no problem using spyware to combat alleged crime in the Palestinian community.

"The establishment of the committee in no way delays the use of the tools. This is a story that was invented as a shameful attempt by police to prevent its establishment. It was specifically agreed that we would not wait for the committee and allow the police to act according to what the attorney general allows according to the law," the sources were cited as saying.

There have been ongoing allegations that the police had access to a less powerful version of the Pegasus spyware developed by NSO Group, known as Saifan, which could be used to access the phones of Israeli citizens.