Imagine discovering that the phones of your country’s top leaders, including the prime minister, were hacked using a powerful spyware tool—only to have the investigation into this shocking breach of security repeatedly stalled. This is exactly what’s happening in Spain, and it’s pointing a finger directly at Israel. Spain’s highest criminal court has once again dropped its probe into the use of the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, which was allegedly used to target senior Spanish ministers. But here’s where it gets controversial: the court cites Israel’s chronic lack of cooperation as the reason, accusing its authorities of violating the ‘principle of good faith’ between nations.
The saga began in May 2022, when the Spanish government revealed that the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles had been infected with Pegasus the previous year. According to its manufacturer, the NSO Group, this spyware is exclusively sold to state agencies. Later, it was discovered that the interior and agriculture ministers had also been targeted. These revelations led to the dismissal of Spain’s spy chief, Paz Esteban, and an admission of ‘shortcomings’ within the country’s intelligence agency, the CNI.
Judge José Luis Calama of the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid announced this week that the investigation is being shelved for the second time due to Israel’s ongoing refusal to cooperate. He explained that Israeli authorities have ignored repeated requests for information, including letters rogatory, which has made it impossible to determine who was behind the spyware attacks. Calama emphasized that Israel’s behavior violates two international legal agreements it has signed and undermines the trust required for international cooperation.
And this is the part most people miss: the investigation was initially closed in July 2023 but reopened months later after France provided information about Pegasus being used to target French officials, journalists, and lawyers. However, the judge clarified that the French data did not offer any new leads to identify who targeted the Spanish politicians.
Calama expressed frustration over Israel’s lack of response, including a request to question NSO’s CEO. Without this cooperation, the investigation remains at a standstill, pending either Israel’s unlikely compliance or the emergence of new evidence.
NSO Group, for its part, has stated that using its technology to monitor politicians, activists, or journalists is a ‘severe misuse’ and against its intended purpose. The company claims it investigates any suspected misuse and cooperates with government inquiries. However, NSO insists it does not operate the technology or access the collected data, and it cannot identify its customers’ targets.
This case raises a thought-provoking question: Should countries like Israel be held more accountable when their technology is allegedly misused to spy on foreign leaders, even if they claim no direct involvement? The controversy deepens when considering the 2020 joint investigation by The Guardian and El País, which revealed that Catalan pro-independence politicians were also targeted by Pegasus. Cybersecurity experts later confirmed that at least 63 individuals linked to the Catalan independence movement were spied on between 2017 and 2020, with 18 cases being legally authorized by Spain’s CNI.
As the investigation stalls yet again, one can’t help but wonder: Is this a failure of international cooperation, or is there more to the story? We’d love to hear your thoughts—do you think Israel should be more transparent, or is this a matter of national security that justifies their silence? Let us know in the comments!
