Palestinian activists’ mobile phones hacked using NSO spyware, says report

Investigation finds rights activists working for groups accused by Israel of being terrorist were previously targeted by NSO spyware

The mobile phones of six Palestinian human rights defenders, some of whom work for organisations that were recently - and controversially - accused by Israel of being terrorist groups, were previously hacked by sophisticated spyware made by NSO Group, according to a report.

An investigation by Front Line Defenders (FLD), a Dublin-based human rights group, found that the mobile phones of Salah Hammouri, a Palestinian rights defender and lawyer whose Jerusalem residency status has been revoked, and five others were hacked using Pegasus, NSO's signature spyware. In one case, the hacking was found to have occurred as far back as July 2020.