Pegasus Spyware in Israel: MK Odeh Calls on Police Commissioner to Resign

Israel police accused of using Pegasus spyware to hack phones of activists and civilians. An investigative report published Jan. 18 by the financial Calcalist newspaper claims that the police purchased the software in 2013, under then-Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, and actually started using it in 2015, when former Shin Bet senior Roni Alsheikh served as police commissioner.…

Palestinian Detainee Ends Hunger Strike After 141 Days

An agreement was reached Tuesday night to end Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash’s 141-day hunger strike, which threatened to renew hostilities between Israel and Gaza militant groups over his deteriorating condition and imminent danger to his life. According to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Abu Hawash weighed 86 kilograms (190 pounds) before his hunger strike. By December…

Racist MK Ben Gvir Pulls Gun on Arab Security Guards

Racist Itamar Ben Gvir, a firebrand fascist lawmaker for the far-right opposition Religious Zionism party, pulled out a pistol during an altercation Tuesday with two Arab security guards over a parking spot at the Expo Tel Aviv conference center.  Both in their early 20s, Mohammed Issa and Mohammed Shwaiki, were working in Tel Aviv when…

Knesset Allows Police to Search Citizens Homes Without Court Orders

The Israeli parliament, Knesset, advanced last week three bills seeking to increase the powers of its security and prison authorities, measures that could disproportionately affect the state’s citizens, especially the Arab-Palestinian national minority. The Knesset approved the first reading of one bill, which would permit the country’s police force to break into, search homes and confiscate cameras without requiring a…