Reactions continue to expose the scandal of the Israeli company NSO's involvement in espionage operations on presidents and politicians, as it launched several criminal investigations around the world in this regard.

For his part, the head of the "NSO" company accused Qatar and the boycott of Israel movement of being behind the case, through a press investigation that revealed the use of the Pegasus software marketed by the Israeli company to spy on journalists, human rights defenders and heads of state around the world.

At the end of last year, the investigative program "What is Hidden Greatest", which is broadcast on Al-Jazeera, succeeded in tracking the penetration of media and activists' phones, to spy on them through sophisticated and unusual electronic penetration holes through the "Pegasus" program developed by the company.


The issue came back to the fore again after a group of 17 international media outlets, including the French newspapers "Le Monde", the British "Guardian" and the American "Washington Post", published a report on this program that increased the suspicions against the Israeli company.

among the neighbors

The Algerian Foreign Ministry condemned what it said was an operation of spying on officials and citizens carried out by Morocco using the Israeli Pegasus program.

Yesterday, the Public Prosecutor in Algeria announced the opening of an investigation into espionage and wiretapping operations that affected Algerian personalities.

In a related context, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry called on the United Nations to investigate reports that India used Israeli technology to spy on Prime Minister Imran Khan's phones and computers.

Several countries have launched criminal investigations after the scandal of the Israeli NSO's involvement in spying on presidents and politicians was exposed (Getty Images)

The ministry added that the list of those who were wiretapped by India through the Israeli Pegasus program include journalists, diplomats, officials, activists and judges.

In a statement, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned the incident, and called on the international community to move to hold India accountable, it said.

Macron phone

In a related context, information from a close source at the Elysee Palace confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron had changed his phone and number on suspicion of being targeted by the Pegasus spyware program.

French sources revealed that one of the phones used by the French president was spotted in the list of phones targeted by the program.

Yesterday, Thursday, the French President held a meeting of the Mini-Defense and National Security Council to discuss the issue, and this came after press reports revealed that about 14 French ministers were suspected of being spied on through Pegasus.

Israeli accusation

With several countries launching criminal investigations into the espionage scandal through the Israeli Pegasus program, the Israeli government formed a special team to follow up on the repercussions of the press investigation in this regard and its political, security and judicial repercussions.


The general manager of NSO, which developed the Pegasus spy program, accused Qatar and the international boycott movement of Israel of being behind the press investigation that revealed the use of Pegasus software marketed by the Israeli company, to spy on journalists, human rights defenders and heads of state around the world.

The director of NSO added that there are those who are trying to attack the company and the Israeli cyber technology by conducting this investigation and involving Amnesty International in it, he said.

to the surface again

This week, the European Union, international and human rights organizations, media and governments condemned what had been revealed about reports of espionage operations worldwide targeting activists and journalists through the Pegasus program.

On Sunday, a group of 17 international media outlets, including the French newspapers "Le Monde", the British "Guardian" and the American "Washington Post", published a report on this program that increased the suspicions against the Israeli company.

The report is based on a list obtained by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International of 50,000 phone numbers believed to be from people considered by NSO to be of interest since 2016.

The list includes the numbers of at least 180 journalists, 600 politicians, 85 human rights activists and 65 businessmen, according to the analysis conducted by the group, which identified many numbers in several countries.

The investigation indicated that the governments of at least 10 countries are among the clients of the Israeli company (NSO), most notably Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Rwanda, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India and the UAE.

Pegasus is used to eavesdrop on human rights activists, monitor email messages, take pictures and record conversations, after their phones are hacked.

NSO was founded in 2010, employs about 500 employees, and is headquartered in Tel Aviv.