Israel Police said Tuesday that it had uncovered new evidence pointing to unauthorized use of NSO Group's powerful Pegasus spyware by its own investigators to snoop on Israeli citizens' phones weeks after denying such allegations.
The announcement came two weeks after Ynet's sister publication Calcalist reported a string of instances of the police using the controversial hacking tool to surveil protesters, politicians and criminal suspects without authorization from a judge. The report caused outrage in Israel and prompted the attorney general and lawmakers to launch investigations.
Last month, police said a preliminary internal investigation had found no evidence of alleged misuse of the controversial spyware. But on Tuesday, the police said a secondary inspection "found additional evidence that changes certain aspects of the state of affairs."
The police had previously denied the report's findings and said they operate according to the law.
Outgoing Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has instructed the police "to adopt procedures immediately in order to prevent breach of authority" and instructed his fact-finding team to submit a report about allegations of unlawful surveillance of civilians by July 1.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman also launched his own probe into alleged police misconduct pertaining to Pegasus.
According to Englman, the Calcalist report raises serious questions in regards to the balance between individual liberties and the investigative needs of law enforcement while risking data leaks and misuse of databases.