Israel's Mossad, Shin Bet to probe police's phone hacking scandal

A team comprising officials of the Shin Bet internal security service, the Mossad spy agency and the state prosecutor office will conduct an initial inquiry into Israeli police's phone hacking scandal, a spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The decision was made in a meeting attended by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Gideon Saar, Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miyara, said the statement.

During the meeting, the four discussed the growing number of journalistic reports, according to which the police used NSO's Pegasus spyware against dozens of officials and citizens without authorization.

The move came amid growing criticism among ministers, lawmakers and the public over the alleged illegal use of the controversial software.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai returned ahead of schedule from his visit to the United Arab Emirates to deal with the scandal.

The Israeli police said in a statement that Shabtai supports the establishment of an inquiry commission headed by a judge.

Israeli spyware company NSO Group has developed Pegasus, a powerful phone-hacking tool, which can infect mobile phones to extract messages, photos and emails, and secretly activate microphones and cameras.

NSO drew international criticism after the spyware had been misused by several governments around the world to target officials, journalists, activists, and academics.