Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has upheld the Shin Bet security agency's use of mobile-phone tracking technology to monitor and threaten Palestinian protesters at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site last year.
The decision, which came on Tuesday, drew harsh criticism from the civil rights group that challenged the use of the technology. The group warned that it would have a "chilling effect" on the country's Arab minority.
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A Palestinian argues with a Border Police officer in the Old City of Jerusalem, May 10, 2021
(Photo: AFP)
The attorney general's move was in response to a complaint about a series of text messages sent out last May during a series of clashes between Palestinian protesters and police at the Al Aqsa Mosque, which helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Using its tracking technology, the Shin Bet sent a text message to people who were determined to be in the area of the clashes and told them "we will hold you accountable" for acts of violence.
The recipients included both Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, as well as Palestinian citizens of Israel, some of which simply lived, worked or prayed in the area where the violence took place.
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A Palestinian runs away from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces in front of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, May 2021
(Photo: AP)
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, a civil-society group, filed a complaint to Mandelblit's office, urging him to halt the use of the technology.
In its response, the attorney general's office acknowledged there had been problems with the message. But it said the use of the technology was a legitimate security tool and that the security service has revised its procedures to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
"After discussions with us on this subject, lessons were learned in the security agency and guidelines formulated in various aspects with the goal of preventing a recurrence of problems like this," said the opinion. It said the office planned no further intervention in the matter.
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Palestinians clash with police at Damascus Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem, May 2021
(Photo: AFP)
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, or ACRI, expressed disappointment with the ruling.
"They say they have the authority to continue sending this kind of texts to people," said Gil Gan-Mor, who heads the group's unit on human rights in the digital age. "We think differently."
"Obviously this will have a chilling effect, to say the least, on practicing legitimate activities, like going to a protest or going to pray somewhere," he said.
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Police on horseback disperse Palestinian rioters near Damascus Gate, May 2021
(Photo: AFP)
ACRI has previously filed legal challenges to the government's use of the same Shin Bet tracking technology as a contact-tracing tool to prevent the spread of the coronavirus early in the pandemic.