Pegasus row: Israel distances itself from NSO after US blacklists spyware firm

JERUSALEM: Israel has distanced itself from the controversy triggered by the NSO Group after the US blacklisted the technology firm, which had developed the Pegasus spyware that was allegedly used to target government officials, activists and journalists globally, saying that it is a private company and it has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government.

“NSO is a private company, it is not a governmental project and therefore even if it is designated, it has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government,” Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday evening.