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India buys Israeli spy Pegasus as part of arms deal: NYT | Stories

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The Indian government led by Hindu Prime Minister Narendra Modi found a spy in Israel as part of a 2017 arms deal, according to The New York Times. reports.

Government of India anakana bought Israeli-made spy software, which is said to have been used to land the phones of protesters, freedom fighters and journalists in India.

A report published Friday said Pegasus and missile launchers were the “starting point” for modern weapons and intelligence equipment worth $ 2bn at the time.

Last year, an investigation by the International Press Association revealed how Israeli spy programs were used by governments around the world to spy on protesters and journalists through their phones.

Phone numbers over 1,000 in India was one of about 50,000 people selected worldwide to take an interest in customers of the NSO Israeli Group, which develops Pegasus spy programs.

The New York Times reports that the warming up of relations with Modi’s rise to power in India led to a deal being negotiated during the day.

“Modi Tour [to Israel in 2017] he was very good, last and last minute for him and the Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is walking barefoot along the beach, ”said the newspaper.

“Their countries have agreed to sell high-quality weapons and intelligence of $ 2bn – with Pegasus and archers as starting weapons,” it said.

“Months later, Netanyahu left for India.

Ministry of Defense in India he tells Parliament last year said it had “not done anything with NSO Group Technologies”.

But India’s largest opposition party has said so defendant a “conspiracy” government.

“Modi Govt bought Pegasus to spy on our major democratic institutions, politicians and the people. Government officials, opposition leaders, militias, all courts were monitored by these phones. This is an attack,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote. on Saturday.

A senior Congress official Mallikarjun Kharge said on Twitter: “Why did Modi Govt act like an enemy of India and use a weapon against India’s citizens?”

Al Jazeera tried to contact Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons but calls were not answered.

The chief minister said in a NYT tweet “it could not be” reliable “.

Last October, the Supreme Court of India set up a group of three investigating the use of Israeli spyware in surveillance in India.

Global conflict

The NSO, which does not disclose its customer list, has been at loggerheads in recent years following a study by Toronto’s Citizen Lab researchers, along with several activists and media outlets, who found that the technology had been manipulated by governments. all over the world to get mobile phones from political opponents, freedom fighters and journalists.

The government of Israel said so far only from this issue after the United States suspended a technical company late last year.

After several months of investigation, the NYT reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in turn, tested spyware programs “for years and plans to use home surveillance until the agency decided not to use weapons” last year “.

According to a newspaper report, most ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists are straightforward and the Pegasus program.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch said one of his senior staff was supervised five times last year by Pegasus.

The program was used against Lama Fakih, the head of the New York office in Beirut who also oversees the response to crisis in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Israel, Myanmar, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and the US, HRW said.



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