Israel police chief orders probe into NSO spyware claims

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s police chief says he has ordered an extensive investigation into a newspaper’s claims that the force had used controversial Israeli spyware to hack the phones of protesters, mayors and other citizens under investigation without proper authorization. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said Thursday that immediately following the report’s publication, police launched “a thorough internal investigation” that has yet to find any instances of unlawful surveillance. He called on the paper to provide “concrete details that will allow us to inspect the alleged incidents.” Earlier this week, Israeli lawmakers called for a parliamentary investigation into the allegations, and both the attorney general and state comptroller said they were looking into the claims of misuse.