The government accepted the proposal of Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and approved the establishment of a governmental investigation committee for the issue of the surveillance (Pegasus) used by the Israeli police.
The special investigation committee has been granted investigation powers and will be authorized to examine the conduct of law enforcement officials, the prosecution, and the oversight systems related to procurement, monitoring, and collection of means against citizens and individuals holding office by using cybernetic tools.
Additionally, it was decided to grant authority to examine the need to conduct comprehensive regulation and provide normative infrastructure for the use of advanced technological tools, in order to strengthen public trust that was affected due to the Pegasus affair. This is done while balancing the need to protect the right to privacy on one hand, and providing enforcement agencies with effective tools to combat crime and corruption on the other.
Levin: "I'm sorry that some of the parties involved in the serious affair have reservations"
After the vote in this week's cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Yariv Levin stated, "The wiretapping affair is one of the gravest that have been exposed in recent years. Revealing the truth in this matter and preventing similar events of human rights violations of Israeli citizens' privacy are essential and crucial like no other."
"I regret the reluctance of some of the parties involved in the serious case to investigate the matter in depth, despite the sharp conflict of interest in which they find themselves. I am confident that the members of the committee, headed by a retired district judge, will do their work with the reverence that befits such a sensitive committee. I thank the members of the committee, Retired Judge Moshe Drori, Attorney Rubinstein and Mr. Ben Hanan, and I wish them great success in the important task assigned to them."
