Before he left office, Mandelblit ordered police to suspend use of spyware — report
AG said to have told cops to wait until inquiry into use of Pegasus phone hacking tech was completed, amid allegations they deployed the tool illicitly
Former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit reportedly ordered police to suspend “offensive” use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware until an inquiry into its use is completed.
Mandelblit made the decision in his last days in office before retiring at the end of January, Channel 12 news reported on Monday. The move came alongside his decision to open an internal probe into the use of the spyware.
Police have been accused of not only using the program to listen in on suspects, but to vacuum any data from phones they spied on.
A bombshell Calcalist report alleged Monday that police used the Pegasus spyware to hack into the phones of government officials, mayors, activists, journalists, and family members and advisers of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all without judicial approval or oversight.
According to the report, police used the software to hack into the phones of the then-directors general of the finance, justice, communication and transportation ministries; prominent businessman Rami Levy; Ilan Yeshua, the former CEO of Walla and currently a top witness in the trial against Netanyahu; Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg; Avner Netanyahu, the son of the former prime minister; leaders of Ethiopian-Israeli protests against police; and many others.
The news was condemned by a wide range of lawmakers and public officials across the political spectrum, who called the report disturbing and deeply concerning.
The revelation came as politicians shifted from making do with a limited probe to calling for a full-on state inquiry into the matter.
Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett defended the use of the spyware, but emphasized that it must be regulated and police officers must be properly trained in its use.
“You want a tool like that when fighting crime families and serious crime. I do not want to give up the tool itself, but to regulate its use,” he said.
Bennett said that while Pegasus and other similar spyware programs “are important tools in the fight against terror and serious crime, they are not intended for widespread ‘fishing’ among Israeli citizens or public figures in the State of Israel, so we need to understand exactly what happened.”
Bennett added that he would consult newly appointed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on how to deal with the issue. “We understand the seriousness of the matter. We will not leave it unanswered,” he concluded.
The Times of Israel Community.