June 29, 2012

Monday, 21 May, 2012 | 12:20

The Israeli Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is proposing a new law that would allow a small number of official organizations to access public telephone calls, emails, and the contents of personal computers. This law would open the way for the Israel Antiquities Authority and the National Parks Authority to use what is known as “Confidential Eavesdropping,” a system used by Israeli police and military intelligence to track emails and access the content of personal computers. For Palestinians, this law is another example of the violation of the democratic principles that Israel claims to uphold. This law is racially biased targeting Palestinians while helping settlers’ organizations take over Palestinian lands, using “democracy” as a catchword to justify the law. In the opinion of Palestinians, there is no need to create such a law because police and military intelligence are loyal to settlers’ organizations, and the same settlers control the Antiquities and National Parks Authorities. Settlers’ organizations are the sole source of information for these authorities. A local Palestinian said that Israel is the country that most often violates the public’s right to privacy especially for Palestinians. For example, cameras have previously been planted inside Palestinians’ houses so the settlers can monitor their movements.