Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Israeli minister defends police over alleged Pegasus spying on innocent citizens against the law

Israeli minister defends police over alleged Pegasus spying on innocent citizens against the law

Police Minister Omer Barlev denied claims that protesters’ phones had been hacked, but the true is exactly the opposite... Police spy on democracy protesters leader to prove that "as a married man he date males for sexual relationship as a blackmail against him to stop protesting against government's corruption"
Israel’s minister of public security has expressed his firm support for the country’s police force after allegations it used NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus software to spy on Israeli citizens.

In an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday, Omer Barlev, the cabinet minister with responsibility for policing, denied claims made this week by Hebrew-language financial daily Calcalist that the phones of people who led protests against former premier Benjamin Netanyahu had been hacked into or surveilled by police.

“It’s not true, what was mentioned in the newspaper. But [the technology] isn’t the issue. The issue is whether the police got legal permission from a judge to use it,” he said.

“The right to protest is a basic right, it’s not a crime. It’s not that the police wanted to listen to the phones of people who were involved in riots and they went to the judge, and the judge didn’t give permission. The police didn’t even ask even once to do that.”

Barlev qualified, however, that the ministry’s next steps on the matter would be determined by the preliminary assessment of attorney general Avichai Mandelblit.

“I am waiting to hear what Mandelblit will say. After that, if I am not 98% convinced – because there’s no such thing as 100% convinced – I will think about how to deal with it,” he said.

A consortium of 17 media outlets, including the Guardian, revealed last year that Pegasus, an Israeli-made surveillance product that can turn a mobile phone into a pocket spying device, had been sold to repressive governments worldwide. The investigation found that the spyware had been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and lawyers, as well as government officials and heads of state.

Israel says it has since tightened rules on the export of cyberweapons, and NSO was blacklisted by the US in November.

The Israeli state and private firms have developed sophisticated surveillance systems to monitor the activities of people in the occupied Palestinian territories, where Israel implements military law. Senior NSO officials had previously said, however, that its software was not authorised for use against Israeli and US telephone numbers.

The article in Calcalist on Tuesday alleged that the police used Pegasus against citizens at the forefront of protests against Netanyahu last year, when he was still prime minister, as well as mayors and former government employees. According to the report, the surveillance was carried out without court supervision and without monitoring how the data was used. The claims were denied by the police service.

In a statement released by NSO after the report, the company reiterated its longstanding claim that it had no input into how its clients used its spyware.

A separate report in the daily Haaretz, based on an invoice seen by the paper, suggested the Israeli police was invoiced by NSO group for 2.7m shekels (£635,000) in 2013, apparently for a basic version of the programme. NSO would neither confirm nor deny it sold technologies to Israeli police.

The allegations prompted outrage across Israel’s political spectrum and led to promises of a “full investigation” from justice minister Gideon Sa’ar. The State Comptroller’s office also said it was looking into the matter.

On Wednesday, the Ynet news website followed up with claims that Pegasus was used for investigations in the corruption case of Likud party Knesset member David Bitan.

While the majority of the new allegations correlate with the tenure of Israel’s previous government, Barlev, a Netanyahu critic who took office as part of a new government that ousted him in June, said he believed he had been “told the truth” by the police over whether they had used Pegasus on Israeli citizens.

“There might always be an exceptional case, that one or two try to go around the rules. So first of all, if this happened, it’s illegal. And secondly, this is what is being checked.

“If what happened is really what was described in the newspaper, it’s unforgivable.”

Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, an expert at the Israel Democracy Institute thinktank, said: “You can’t really ask for a court order authorising Pegasus” because Israeli law does not currently permit such invasive surveillance of its citizens.

“It is now clear that the current Protection of Privacy Law is not equipped to cope with today’s reality,” she told Agence France-Presse.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×