Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is stalling the proceedings aimed at establishing a state commission of inquiry into the use of NSO's Pegasus spyware by Israel's police, a Labor Party lawmaker said on Thursday.
Head of Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee MK Gilad Kariv told Ynet the government is hindering the investigation into the scandal, revealed last month by Ynet's sister outlet Calcalist.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Head of Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, and member of the Labor party Gilad Kariv
(Photo: Emil Salman, Knesset spokesperson, Noam Moskowitz)
"It is impossible to wrap up this matter without a governmental committee or a state commission of inquiry to review it," Kariv said.
He added that there is an "unfortunate delay" in the establishment of a state inquiry, saying that the attorney general won't be able to rely the government's review of the scandal because they are the ones who were supposed to monitor police's actions in the first place.
"I can trust some parts of their review," said Kariv. "I'm sure that they will look into how things were done inside the police, but the one question is who supervised the use of spying technologies, and who authorized the purchase of the spying software and made sure that they were used according to very strict procedures? Those matters need a comprehensive inquiry.
"I also understand Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his will to figure out as quickly as possible whether politicians and public figures' phones have been hacked," he said.
"Even without the list of the people who were monitored by police, from the things we already know, it's clear there is a justification for an establishment of an external inquiry team."
He added that the commission of inquiry will eventually be established, so any delay is only postponing the inevitable.
"There is no reason to dwell on this matter, you just have to take action to move things forward," he said.