Israel police allegedly used the Pegasus software on former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Avner Netanyahu, according to reports from news agencies AP and Israeli news agency Calcalist.
The Israeli news agency also said in its report that Netanyahu and his inner circle were targeted using the spyware for their alleged role in a corruption case that dates back to the time when Netanyahu was the prime minister. It said that the spyware was used on Avner, two communications advisors and the wife of another defendant in the case.
Calcalist further revealed that the police used the spyware to target organisers of demonstrations on behalf of disabled people and Israel’s Ethiopian minority. News agencies in Israel earlier reported that mayors, former directors of cabinet ministers and business leaders were also targeted. Dudu Mizrahi, the CEO of Israel’s Bezeq telecom firm, was also allegedly targeted. Israeli media earlier reported that the Pegasus spyware was used against a key witness, named Shlomo Filber, in the corruption trial against Netanyahu.
Israel’s minister in charge of police said that a committee will be set up to investigate the allegations levelled against the police force. He highlighted that the matter be investigated since the Calcalist report revealed that the spying was allegedly done without any judicial warrant and at a time when proceedings did not even begin.
Internal security minister Omer Barlev and police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that a thorough investigation will be conducted. The Netanyahu government ordered export reviews after allegations of misuse of the spyware surfaced from several nations across the world. The parent company NSO says that all sales are government-authorised and it cannot run Pegasus by itself.
Israel’s Union Of Journalists also voiced concern regarding its usage.
Israel’s prime minister Isaac Herzog said that Israel must not lose its democracy. “This necessitates a very deep and thorough investigation. We must not lose our police. And we must certainly not lose public trust in them. We must not lose our democracy,” Herzog said.
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