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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According to three former US officials cited in the report, the miniature "StingRay" devices were meant to spy on US President Donald Trump and his closest aides.

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Notably, in contrast to other espionage discoveries, there were no consequences for this case, as the Trump administration did not reprove the Israeli government, according to one of the former officials.

The StingRays, technically referred to as IMSI-catchers, work by acting as regular cell towers that are then able to obtain the locations and identities of mobile devices in addition to data and call content.

.@politico journalist @dlippman says senior White House officials told him the FBI determined it most likely #Israel who planted Stingray spy devices near the White House: pic.twitter.com/ZfAzTXJiuu

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 12, 2019

According to Politico, the incumbent president has been notoriously careless in security protocols, for example by failing to use a secured cellphone. Politico also cited his dismissive response to a report in The New York Times in October 2018 of Chinese spies tapping his calls, which he said was "so incorrect I do not have time here to correct it."

At that point, officials at the Homeland Security Department had already uncovered evidence of the StingRays around the nation's capital while conducting tests, though they were unable to identify the specific source.

The findings were apparently relayed to relevant federal agencies, Politico reported, based on a letter by a top DHS official, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs, to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in May 2018.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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Daka was convicted by a military tribunal of membership in the terrorist group that kidnapped and executed IDF soldier Moshe Tamam in 1986.

Ghattas was convicted in March 2017 on several counts, including breach of trust and providing the means to carry out terrorist acts, and received a two-year sentence from the Beersheba Magistrates' Court in April 2017 as part of a plea bargain.

Ghattas entered Gilboa Prison in July 2017, telling a throng of journalists that he was "entering prison with my head held high."

"I will continue to protect the rights of prisoners and bring their cases to the public agenda," he said.

Ghattas justified the smuggling of cell phones to prisoners as "humanitarian," though didn't elaborate on how the illegal phones would serve such purposes.

He was also fined 120,000 shekels (approximately $33,000) and given 18 months of probation.

According to reports, a party was scheduled to be held for Ghattas, who is a Christian, in a Greek Orthodox church in Ramallah.

This article is reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The Palestinian media quoted a prisoner leader who said that while a few dozen security prisoners had declined meals, no official hunger strike had been declared.

A senior IPS official told Israel Hayom that no steps taken by Palestinian prisoners would cause Israeli prison authorities to cancel recent widespread security reforms.

"We won't allow them to direct terrorist attacks from inside prison. In the future, we will take more severe steps against them," the official said.

Four prisoners who reportedly began hunger striking Sunday morning were Mohammad Arman of Hamas; Zaid Bisisi from the Islamic Jihad; Wael Al-Jagoub of the Popular Front and Hassan Derbasi of the Democratic Front.

It was expected that 1,400 more might join them by April 17, Palestinian Prisoners Day, with a prisoners' statement saying all prisoners would be invited to join on May 1, if no agreement was reached.

The strike was announced in advance, and is the culmination of protests and riots that started following prison authorities installing cellular signal jammers in the wards as part of a comprehensive rehaul of prison condition ordered by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

The hunger strikers are demanding that the devices be removed, citing health concerns. They also asked for visits from their relatives resume – they are regularly interrupted for security reasons by Israeli authorities.

A communique by Qadri Abu Baker, chairman of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission at the Palestinian Authority, confirmed reports in media on Friday that a point of discussion was the installation of public telephones in the Negev and Ramon prisons.

Although cellphone use is forbidden in Israeli jails, authorities often tolerate it, controlling it through regular crackdowns.

"In order to prevent escalation, we will respond to every scenario with the utmost severity and determination to make it clear that the security of the prisons is in the hands of the IPS, and not by any other party," the source added.

Supporters of the prisoners took to social media, under the Arabic hashtag معركة_الكرامة# ("battle for dignity") with many seeing in the protest more than just an attempt at removing cell phone restrictions.

Although it denied doing so on Friday, numerous Palestinian and Israeli media outlets reported that negotiations were still under way on Sunday between representatives of the Palestinian prisoners and the IPS.

A political protest

The protest comes at a crucial point, as Israel enters the last week of its general election campaign, and the first week of what is expected to be intense political wrangling over the construction of a ruling coalition.

The issue is a cause of concern for the ruling party, which is running on a strict security platform, with some challenging it from the Right.

"Then they tell me Netanyahu supports the Right," tweeted MK Bezalel Smotrich, No. 2 on the Union of Right-Wing Parties list, deriding the prime minister after referring to reports of negotiations.

"They can get hungry as they want, to death, without forcefeeding and shoes. I call on Netanyahu to cease any discussion with the terrorists in prison," he added.

There are 5,370 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and they are a large and important constituency in the complex field of Palestinian politics. More than 80% of Palestinian families have one member in jail, according to some estimates.

They are organized in committees that oversee daily life in the prisons, as well as the relationship with Palestinian authorities on the outside.

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