Israeli minister says police did not use spyware on protesters

A Cabinet minister in Israel denied that police used spyware on protesters following reports published in an Israeli newspaper earlier this week. 

In a Wednesday interview with Army Radio, Omer Barlev, who is in charge of the police in Israel, said that most of the claims “are simply erroneous,” according to The Associated Press. 

“There was no surveillance, no hacking of any phone of any protester in any protest,” Barlev said. “It’s against the law.”

His remarks come after Israeli newspaper Calcalist reported on Tuesday that Israeli police allegedly used Pegasus spyware on its citizens.

Specifically, the newspaper said that the spyware was used to monitor anti-government protest leaders and others. It added that the police did not always obtain the proper legal authorization for their actions.

The police denied the accusations in the report and said their operations were lawful. Meanwhile, the NSO Group, which developed the Pegasus spyware, said it does not identify its clients, the AP reported.

Barlev also said the attorney general on Tuesday requested that police formally respond to the report’s claims.

Gideon Sa’ar, the country’s justice minister, said an “unbridgeable gap” existed between the newspaper’s report and the police’s claims, noting that the attorney general was also investigating the newspaper’s findings, the wire service added.

He also said the Justice Ministry was unaware of any instances of surveillance that lacked court authorization but added that the accusations were under an independent investigation by Israel’s State Comptroller, the AP reported.

NSO technology is blacklisted in the United States, and it has sparked global controversy given its use to spy on journalists and human rights activists.