Israel to review allegations of misuse and licensing process

Jerusalem: Amid the Pegasus snooping case backlash, Israel has established a committee to review the allegations of misuse of the NSO group's surveillance software and hinted at a possible "review of the whole matter of giving licences".

The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others in a number of countries including India triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy. Politicians, rights activists and journalists were among those targeted with phone spyware sold to various governments by the Israeli firm, according to an international media consortium.

The defence establishment appointed a review committee made up of a number of bodies," lawmaker Ram Ben-Barak, the head of Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, told Army Radio on Thursday.

When they finish their review, we'll demand to see the results and assess whether we need to make corrections," Ben-Barak, who earlier was the former deputy head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, added.

Israel's priority was to review this whole matter of giving licenses , he stressed. NSO's chief executive, Shalev Hulio, welcomed the move, telling Army Radio that he would be very pleased if there were an investigation so that we'd be able to clear our name.