Over two years before the need for effective coronavirus contact tracing sparked public debate in Israel about allowing the Shin Bet security agency to monitor location data on the public's cellphone devices, the agency was already keeping tabs on Israeli's mobiles as part of a program to counter Islamic State activity in Israel, Channel 13 News reported Sunday.
According to Channel 13, which did not cite a source, the program was approved by top Justice Ministry officials, including Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit. The Shin Bet reportedly received permission to operate the program for six months, after which the agency was allowed to proceed with it for another 2.5 years. It is also possible that the tracking is still in place, the report said.
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What, if any, oversight measure are in place is unclear.
The report did not go into detail about what type of data the Shin Bet was gathering, and said that the agency mined data from cellular providers' databases – allegedly without informing them or obtaining permission.
The Justice Ministry issued a statement in response to the report: "The methods the Shin Bet uses in its fight against terrorism and in general are by law classified, and exposing them could cause serious harm to national security. Often, legal issues pertaining to the agency's methods are presented to the attorney general, or one of his representatives, to be evaluated and approved."
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