Rights defenders working with groups labeled as terrorist organizations by Israel had their phones compromised by Pegasus spyware.
A new investigation has revealed that the mobile phones of six Palestinian human rights activists were compromised by the sophisticated Pegasus spyware developed by NSO Group. These activists, including Salah Hammouri, a Palestinian lawyer whose Jerusalem residency has been revoked, were working with organizations recently labeled as terrorist groups by Israel.
The investigation, led by Front Line Defenders (FLD), a human rights organization based in Dublin, discovered that the phones were hacked as early as July 2020. Technical verification by leading cybersecurity groups, including Citizen Lab and Amnesty International’s security lab, confirmed the breach with high confidence.
This revelation is expected to intensify international scrutiny of Israel’s decision to classify Palestinian human rights organizations as terror groups. Human rights experts from the UN have condemned this move, describing it as a direct assault on Palestinian human rights efforts and a misuse of anti-terrorism laws.
