Spanish court points finger at Israel as it drops Pegasus spyware case again

Judge shelves inquiry into use of Israeli-made software to target ministers' phones citing chronic lack of cooperation

Spain's highest criminal court has again shelved its investigation into the use of Israeli-made Pegasus software to target the mobile phones of senior Spanish ministers, including the prime minister, citing a chronic lack of cooperation from the Israeli authorities that has violated the principle of good faith" between countries.

The investigation began in May 2022 after the Spanish government revealed that the phones of the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the defence minister, Margarita Robles, had both been infected the previous year with the spyware, which, according to its manufacturers, NSO Group, is available only to state agencies. It was later established the phones of the interior minister and the agriculture minister had also been targeted.