Israel’s Gantz in Paris, to repair diplomatic damage caused by NSO affair

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met July 28 in Paris with his French counterpart Florence Parly. Israel’s Defense Ministry noted that the date for the Paris visit was set already a month ago, to discuss the Iranian file, Lebanon and other regional strategic issues. Still, with the NSO affair revealed last week, Gantz’s meeting with Parly focused on that.

On July 18, the Paris-based Forbidden Stories news site reported that NSO's spyware Pegasus was used in attempted and successful hacks and tracking of dozens of cellphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists and politicians in different countries. NSO has largely denied the claims.