From Opposition slams ‘illegitimate vote’ on bill to expand police surveillance powers
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition parties slam what they call an “illegitimate vote” after a bill allowing police to spy on suspects’ computers using secret warrants clears its preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum 58-1.
Writing to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik, senior lawmakers representing opposition factions complain that the controversial bill was returned to the Knesset agenda “without the knowledge and consent of the opposition” after being previously removed.
Accusing Ohana and Afik of facilitating the “trampling of the stature of the Knesset,” the lawmakers describe the vote, which they boycotted, as “an illegal and illegitimate legislative process.”
If passed into law, the Otzma Yehudit-backed bill would empower district court judges to issue secret warrants for the intrusion into computer systems belonging to suspects in cases relating to serious crimes in which “the purpose of the search will be frustrated if the search is conducted openly.” The orders, which would last 30 days, would only be granted if the offense in question is punishable by 10 or more years in prison — effectively preventing it from applying to cases of suspected corruption by politicians.
Police can currently wiretap phones and listen in to data in transit, including phone calls and text messages, but cannot extract preexisting, or “at-rest,” data out of computers or mobile devices.
Celebrating the bill’s advancement, sponsor Zvika Fogel declares that “we will not allow criminal organizations to take advantage of digital freedom to harm public security.”
