GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Lawyers and civil rights advocates are calling for the government to investigate allegations that Palestinian security services are tapping phones and surveilling some citizens and prominent figures. The accusations sparked outrage, especially as they are supported by leaked documents that include transcripts and photographs.

A Palestinian security officer leaked the documents after leaving his job in the Preventive Security Service (PSS), which is affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. He included in the documents a letter of apology asserting that he is exposing the activity as repentance for the wiretapping operations.

Several Palestinian media outlets reported Jan. 10 on the leaked materials, which appear to show that Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip were put under surveillance after their phones were tapped. The most prominent recorded phone conversations were between Hamas officials and Egyptian intelligence following the recent Palestinian reconciliation talks.

The documents include intelligence reports about phone conversations between top Hamas leaders, such as Khaled Meshaal and Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, as well as other prominent leaders. They also include reports about phone conversations between Hamas security officials and Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, as well as a conversation between Haniyeh and the emir of Qatar. (The United States just added Haniyeh to its terrorist blacklist.)