Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 1, 2020

JERUSALEM: Israels parliament on Thursday extended a deadline set by the Supreme Court for the government to put forward a bill authorising its controversial use of the domestic security agency to track coronavirus infections.

In a ruling on Sunday, Israels top court had given the government until Thursday to begin a primary legislative process that would authorise the Shin Bets coronavirus surveillance or discontinue it. But the court ruling also gave the government the option of asking parliament for an extension. In a meeting on Thursday morning, parliaments foreign affairs and defence committee gave the government until midnight Tuesday to obtain legislative approval without having to discontinue its use of the spy agency. Committee chairman Gabi Ashkenazi said the cabinet was meeting on the issue on Sunday, and if it decided not to pursue legislation authorising the programme, the surveillance would be halted immediately. Ashkenazi added that if the government confirmed it wanted to move forward with legislation and requested more time, parliament would consider prolonging the extension.

But he stressed the need to explore alternative technologies for monitoring possible carriers of the novel coronavirus beyond the Shin Bets methods. Last month, the government authorised the spy agency to monitor citizens mobile phones under emergency powers to combat the pandemic.

Excerpt from:

Israel MPs give govt more time to use spy agency against virus - The News International

Category: Ashkenazi
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