Traces of the NSO software have been discovered in the phones of Palestinian NGO members classified as “terrorists” by the Israeli state. The evidence published to date are not conclusive.
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For the first time, listenings against human rights activists and defenders through PEGASUS spyware are documented in the Palestinian territories. IT security researchers revealed, Monday, November 8, have detected six-person phones traces of the use of this software, sold by the Israeli company NSO Group to states, as a tool to combat crime and terrorism.
These targets are employees of Palestinian NGOs, that Israel has precisely designated as “terrorists” on October 19, three days after these traces have been detected, without publicly providing evidence. Among the target people is Franco-Palestinian Salah Hamouri, who works for the Adameer Prisoners’ Defense Organization. On October 18, Mr. Hamouri was informed by the Ministry of the Interior that his right of residence in Jerusalem East was revoked.
Their phones were examined by the Front Line Defenders organization, as well as by Citizen Lab from the University of Toronto, specializing in malware analysis, and Amnesty International. The targets were infected, according to their data, between July 2020 and April 2021. Among them, are also employees of the Bisan Center for Research and Development and Al-Haq, Veteran among Human Rights Organizations. Middle East. The latter helped to fuel the investigation opened in March by the International Criminal Court in the occupied Palestinian territories, which aims, in particular, of the supposed crimes related to colonization and arouses concern in Israel.
Sanctions of the United States on NSO
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, placed these Black List NGOs on the grounds that they would serve as a screen at the Popular Front of Palestine (FPLP), Movement from Arab Nationalism and Marxism, considered as terrorist by Israel and the European Union. This accusation endangers the financial contributions by European states.
Their designation as “terrorist organizations” had only aroused rare criticism in Israel; Those emitted by the left wing of the government had been quickly removed by Mr. Gantz. The target NGOs denounce an attempt to muzzle Palestinian civil society. Monday, NSO has been reminded that it “does not operate the product itself; the company grants licenses to government agencies authorized to do so and we are not informed about the details of the individuals [supervised]” .
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