The Israeli Government Inflamed When It Knows Pegasus Is Also Used By Police To Spy On Local Politicians

Pegasus is also used to spy on Israeli politicians. (photo: doc. unsplash

JAKARTA- Monday, February 7, the Israeli government announced it would launch a nationwide investigation after a newspaper reported the police's illegal use of powerful spyware against confidants of former Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other public figures.

"Pegasus, a mobile phone hacking tool created by Israel's NSO Group, was used to elicit intelligence even before any investigations were opened against the target, and without a subpoena", Calcalist said in the unsourced report.

The furor has added to the domestic angle to allegations that emerged last year of foreign clients' abuse of Pegasus against journalists, rights activists, and other figures, prompting the Israeli government to order a review of the device's exports.

As reported by Reuters, NSO said all of its sales were authorized by the government and did not run Pegasus itself.

Calcalist said targets in Israel included a son and two of Netanyahu's aides - who are on trial on corruption charges he denies - as well as a defendant and several witnesses, and, separately, two former officials suspected of leaking to journalists.

The court hearing the case against Netanyahu said it would cancel the next session, scheduled for Tuesday, February 8. They will await a response from the prosecution on the hacking allegations before deciding whether proceedings will resume on Wednesday.

Omer Barlev, the police minister, said he was setting up a cabinet-level commission of inquiry, drawing calls from some colleagues in the government for a more independent investigation.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the allegations against police "very serious, if true".

Pegasus made a statement that the tool was not intended to be used in a phishing campaign targeting the Israeli public or officials, which is why we need to understand exactly what happened.

Israel's Health Minister, Nitzan Horowitz, immediately called for several police officers to be investigated for involvement in the case. "Those who turned a blind eye to this activity abroad must now face it here", Horowitz said.