The Israeli government on February 7 said that it will set up a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations that the Israeli police illegally used NSO-made spyware against its citizens, the Times of Israel reported. "The reports about Pegasus, if they are true, are very serious. This tool (Pegasus) and similar tools, are important tools in the fight against terrorism and severe crime, but they were not intended to be used in phishing campaigns targeting the Israeli public or officials – which is why we need to understand exactly what happened," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. Thus far, much of the scrutiny of NSO and Pegasus have come from abroad following the revelations made by Project Peagaus in July last year. In India, the Supreme Court has constituted an expert committee to investigate the usage of Pegasus by the government against its own citizens. Hungary and France are also investigating the Pegasus allegations. In the US, NSO has been blacklisted by the government and faces lawsuits from Apple and WhatsApp. Notwithstanding all these challenges, an investigation on its home turf deals a significant blow to NSO, especially in light of a recent report by the New York Times that revealed the amount of support NSO had from the Israeli government all these years. "Those who turned a blind eye to this activity abroad, must now deal with it here." – Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz Who was allegedly targeted by Israeli police? Israeli news agency Calcalist reported that Pegasus was used by the Israeli police between…
