UKs Use of Israeli Spyware Raises Human Rights Concerns in Israel-Palestine Conflict

UK Government Invests in Israeli-Led Spyware Technology

The UK government has entered into agreements with two Israeli-linked manufacturers, Cellebrite and BriefCam, to purchase spyware technology developed and tested on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Despite public criticism of Israel’s actions in the region, the UK has disregarded its own concerns and invested in these technologies.

Cellebrite, an Israeli company closely linked to that country’s military, has developed software capable of bypassing passwords and security protocols on smartphones and computers, allowing access to data from them. This technology has been used extensively by the Israeli military on Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank, including harvesting data from the phones of thousands of detained Palestinians.

The UK government has also entered into contracts with several police forces, including the City of London Police, Leicestershire Police, and Kent and Essex police, to access Cellebrite’s software. These agreements include renewals for significant amounts of money, totaling over £128,000 in one case.

BriefCam, another Israeli-founded company, has been providing surveillance software to law enforcement agencies since at least 2022. The technology allows police to sift through and condense hours of CCTV footage, making it easily searchable, and includes facial-recognition and licence-plate search tools.

The UK Home Office has declined to comment on specific customer relationships or contracts with these companies. Cellebrite’s senior director, Victor Cooper, has stated that the company’s solutions are forensic tools used in legally sanctioned investigations and require physical possession of the device.

Source: Al Jazeera