Israel Launches Investigation Into Ballooning Spyware Scandal

The investigation followed a report in Israeli newspaper Calcalist that police unlawfully targeted one of Mr. Netanyahu’s sons and two of his top communication aides, along with mayors, ministry officials and a leading businessman. The uproar began in January with reports that police used spyware against political opponents of Mr. Netanyahu.

On Monday, the allegations prompted calls for a thorough investigation from across Israel’s political spectrum and from Israel’s own national police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, who took office in January 2021, after the period of alleged wrongdoing.

“We cannot lose our democracy. We cannot lose our police. And surely, we cannot lose the faith of our public in them. This requires an in-depth and thorough investigation,” said Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the allegations “very serious.” He said spyware is an important tool in fighting terrorism and major crime but wasn’t intended for use in “phishing campaigns targeting the Israeli public or officials—which is why we need to understand exactly what happened.”

The allegations threatened to upend Mr. Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges, with his defense lawyers demanding in court on Monday a delay in the proceeding until it is determined whether evidence against him was obtained illegally. The judges suspended a hearing scheduled for Tuesday and asked the prosecution to submit a response to spying allegations by Tuesday afternoon, after which the court will determine whether the hearings will continue on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Mr. Netanyahu accepted expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen in exchange for official favors and offered two media executives regulatory and financial benefits in exchange for positive press coverage. Mr. Netanyahu has denied the charges, calling the investigation a witch hunt that was designed to bring down his government. His trial began in May 2020 and is expected to last for many more months if not years.

Prosecutors are working to determine whether one of their key witnesses slated to take the stand soon was pressed to flip against Mr. Netanyahu by investigators using evidence illegally obtained. They are also investigating whether other individuals connected to the investigations were illicitly spied on by the police.

At the heart of the allegations is whether the police used spyware without proper judicial oversight and against individuals not suspected of any major wrongdoing. Israeli police have backed off their initial denials of wrongdoing.

Israel’s police say they use a variety of spyware tools, including one developed by Israel’s NSO Group, known for its Pegasus software, which can completely take over a smartphone without the target knowing. The police haven’t said how similar their spyware is to Pegasus, only that Israeli law allows them limited access.

The police say spyware is crucial for tracking criminal activity amid a rise in the use of encrypted software in phone apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal. NSO says its software is meant to help law enforcement save lives and stop crime, and that it terminates contracts with clients that misuse the platform.

Some privacy advocates have said the use of spyware in Israel is illegal. They say the current laws were designed to allow law-enforcement officials to listen to conversations, and not to take control of smartphones and gain unfettered access to a person’s data.