Israeli police involved in spying on Israelis using NSO's Pegasus

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A press investigation published by Calcalist revealed that the Israeli company was involved in wiretapping the Israelis, using NSO's wiretapping spyware, without issuing orders authorizing it to do so.

The report stated that the police targeted, in the spy program, mayors and organizers of protests against former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known as the "black flags" protests.

For its part, the police denied the authenticity of the report and said, "This is an attempt to harm the police, and we are working according to the laws."

Internal Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev referred to the report saying that he was confident all the spying operations launched by the police against Israelis, including mayors and activists in protests such as those against Netanyahu were "legally carried out." 

The Minister told Studio Ynet, "I also do not like wiretaps of civilians, neither the police nor the General Security Service. All these things in "Israel" require the permission of a judge. Just as there is permission to wiretaps on a regular phone, the same thing happens in the case of using the software. That's what I'm told, that's what I understand and I can say I'm really going to make sure that happens."

The Israeli Maariv website also revealed the demands in favor of establishing a government investigation committee, following the publication in the Calcalist newspaper this morning, on Tuesday, where allegations were received that “the police carried out a series of wiretaps and hacked the mobile phones of Israelis who are not criminals or suspects, without a court order and without any judicial oversight.”

The Shas bloc asked the Speaker of the Knesset to form a parliamentary investigation committee to examine the use of spyware and investigate information about those involved in the entire affair, beginning with the approval of its use and passing through the criteria and steps that should be taken against those responsible for these legal violations, as stated in the submitted request.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli spyware production company was reportedly involved in misusing the program, based on several reports. The third-largest group in the European Parliament called on January 12 for the formation of a commission to investigate abuses by EU governments that are using powerful Pegasus spyware by the Israeli NSO Group.

What is Pegasus? 

According to an investigation led by The Washington Post and 16 media partners that were published on July 18, Pegasus is military-grade spyware leased by NSO to governments who used it in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, and business executives.

The investigation discovered that 37 targeted smartphones were found on a list of more than 50,000 numbers concentrated in countries known to engage in citizen surveillance and also known to have been clients of NSO Group.

A substantial number of people were found in West Asia, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Yemen, knowing that NSO clientele is said to include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Other countries were also involved, according to the same report.