Eavesdropping probe finds Israeli police exceeded authority

By EMILY ROSE
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli government’s investigation into the use of powerful eavesdropping technology by the police found that they only used it after securing a judicial warrant. But the investigators said the flood of information exceeded the limits of police authority. The probe was launched after Calcalist, a local business daily, published an explosive report that the police had used Pegasus, a controversial technology developed by Israel’s NSO Group, to spy on public figures. A Justice Ministry investigation rejected those claims in February and released additional findings on Monday. It said there was no sign that the excess information was used, but that its acquisition was a “violation of authority.” The statement didn’t identify the technology.