Israeli government accessed Palestinians' cell phone data through app

Israel had access to the data of over 50,000 Palestinians through a mobile phone application, according to a Friday Haaretz report, a feature the Israeli government said it has changed after criticism from rights groups.

In February 2019, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories (COGAT) developed the Al-Munasiq app, which digitised services for Palestinians, including checking on the status of permit applications. More than 50,000 Palestinians downloaded the app, according to Haaretz.

When downloading the app, users were required to give permission for broad access to data stored on their phone, such as access to geographic location, the phone's camera and stored messages and files.

According to Haaretz, the app's registration screen states COGAT may use the data for "any purpose, including security purposes" and may store collected information in their databases.

According to Haaretz, the Civil Administration said the app collected information to prevent identity theft, accessed the user's geographical location in to schedule appointments at checkpoints, and accessed the device's camera and files so as to scan and store documents.

In late April, Israel's agriculture ministry instructed employers to require Palestinians to fill out a health declaration on Al-Munasiq prior to entering Israel for work, even though COGAT has said that use of the app was not compulsory, Haaretz reported.

After a number of Israeli rights associations petitioned for Palestinians to be allowed to fill out a medical form without using the app, COGAT said the agriculture ministry was asked to get rid of the requirement.

Attorney Adi Lustigman, who filed the petition against the app's terms of use on behalf of HaMoked, told Haaretz the Civil Administration has yet to make the change.

"Since the answers we’ve received so far do not reflect the reality, the [administration's] conduct gives rise to the suspicion that, ultimately, the app is really just another means for collecting information on the Palestinians while breaking the law, harming protected people and misleading the public," she said.

According to Haaretz, COGAT said the app was developed "for the benefit of the Palestinian public" and that its terms of use had been changed, though the update will take a few days to come into effect.

It added that no information was collected from users without their permission, and that anyone seeking to delete their information may take their request to the "relevant parties".

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected