Netanyahu trial stalled over reports of spyware being used on key witness

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Amnon Lord, a columnist for the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom, called for a wrongful trial.

The witness whose phone was reportedly hacked, Shlomo Filber, is expected to testify in the coming days and Netanyahu’s lawyers are expected to ask for his testimony to be postponed. It remains unclear whether any of the evidence allegedly collected was used against Netanyahu.

Police and Netanyahu’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli Ministry of Justice declined to comment. Prosecutors have told Netanyahu’s lawyers they are “carefully examining” the reports, according to internal communications seen by The Associated Press.

The report came after the Israeli newspaper, Calcalist, reported that the Israeli police had tracked targets without proper authorization. Last week, the Israel National Police Force said it had found evidence of improper use of spyware by its investigators to snoop on the phones of Israeli citizens. This information shocked Israelis and drew condemnation from across the political spectrum.

The authorities did not mention which spyware may have been used incorrectly.

But the Calcalist report said at least some of the cases involved the Israeli company NSO.

NSO is the most famous maker of offensive software in Israel, but it is by no means the only one. Its flagship product, Pegasus, allows operators to seamlessly infiltrate a target’s mobile phone and access device contents, including messages and contacts, as well as location history.

NSO has faced increased scrutiny over Pegasus, which has been linked to snooping on human rights activists, journalists and politicians around the world in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

NSO says all of its sales have been approved by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. These sales have reportedly played a key role in developing Israeli relations with the Arab states in the Gulf.

Aluf Benn, editor-in-chief of the daily Haaretz, said it was a surprise that Netanyahu is now portraying himself as a victim.

He wrote: “What a paradox: the man who profited from Pegasus for foreign policy gains now believes he has lost his domestic authority due to spyware.”

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