Israel to probe if spyware used illegally at home
Israel will investigate allegations that police illicitly used homegrown spyware that’s gained notoriety abroad against its own citizens.
The government will form a committee to look into a series of reports by Calcalist, a Hebrew business daily, that law enforcement officials used NSO Group’s Pegasus software without a court order to tap into the phones of citizens both prominent and obscure, including a key prosecution witness in former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Others allegedly targeted include an anti-Netanyahu protester, the former Israeli leader’s son, high-ranking officials, and the heads of some of the country’s biggest companies.
Israeli officials, including the minister in charge of police, initially denied any impropriety. But the police later backtracked, citing “additional findings,” and on Monday, public security minister Omer Bar-Lev ordered the investigation.
“The reports about Pegasus, if they are true, are very serious,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement on Monday. “This tool (Pegasus) and similar tools, are important tools in the fight against terrorism and severe crime, but they were not intended to be used in phishing campaigns targeting the Israeli public or officials – which is why we need to understand exactly what happened.”
This is the latest scandal linked to the embattled Israeli firm, which has been under scrutiny for years, but the first in its home country. Pegasus, which can be remotely installed in smartphones to extract even encrypted communications, has been allegedly used to target journalists, dissidents and human rights activists by foreign governments including Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The uproar generated by the Calcalist expose has already affected Netanyahu’s graft trial, Channel 13 reported on Monday. The Jerusalem District Court has cancelled Tuesday’s scheduled hearing, and asked the prosecution to submit a report on its examination of the allegations.
Biden ‘looks forward’ to Israel visit this year
US President Joe Biden is looking forward to a visit to Israel later this year, he told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a phone call between the two leaders on Sunday, according to a White House statement.
Biden also conveyed his “unwavering support” for Israel’s security and “full support” for replenishing the Iron Dome air defence system.
The US leader hosted Bennett at the White House last year, where the pair glossed over their differences and put up a united front. Israel fiercely opposes Biden’s attempt to reverse his predecessor Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran nuclear deal talks to resume in Vienna today
Iran nuclear deal talks will resume in Vienna on Tuesday, diplomats said on Monday, after negotiators in recent weeks have cited progress in seeking to revive the 2015 landmark accord.
Parties to the deal have been negotiating in Vienna since last year with indirect US participation. Talks were most recently halted at the end of last month, and the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.
“The 8th round of the Vienna Talks… attended by China, France, Germany, Russia, UK, Iran and the US resume tomorrow in Vienna,” tweeted Alain Matton, spokesman of the EU, which chairs the discussions.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Washington Post in an interview published online on Monday that a successful conclusion of the talks “depends on Iran”.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the answers “the United States brings tomorrow to Vienna will determine when we can reach an agreement”.
“We have made significant progress in various areas of the Vienna negotiations” including on guarantees that Iran seeks that a new US administration would not breach the deal once again, Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.