Israel's Shabak to Track Movement of Coronavirus Carriers
World
Ramallah, Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat
After three coronavirus patients died in Israel in one day bringing the death toll to eight, the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known as “Shabak”) uncovered the use of its sophisticated cyber-intelligence sector to unlimitedly track the movement of citizens, read their text messages, and listen to their phone conversations. Sources close to the matter said that the Shabak is using metadata in its efforts to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic by tracking citizens through their phone numbers. In this regard, the Israeli High Court declared that the cellphone monitoring must stop, describing the measure as illegal. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued emergency regulations allowing the Shabak to monitor coronavirus patients’ cellphones. The Shin Bet is tracking the routes that patients have taken outside their homes to identify people who they had gotten close to and order them to self-quarantine. Until Thursday, around 2,666 Israelis had been tested positive for the coronavirus, the vast majority with mild cases. At least 68 people have recovered from the illness. According to the Health Ministry, there are 432 people in hospital, 1,261 are being treated at home, 325 are being treated in a specially designated hotel and 573 are awaiting a decision on how they will be treated. It said among the latest victims are a 91-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man, who both had underlying health conditions. The third fatality is a woman from J'lem nursing home. In an opinion published by Haaretz on Thursday, Yossi Klein wrote, “You wouldn’t believe how quickly our Shin Bet could turn into the Stasi. The speed at which this happens is on a par with the speed at which a democracy turns into a dictatorship.” Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said during a meeting on Thursday with the heads of the security forces in Ramallah that with the rapid spread of novel COVID-19 (coronavirus), the coming days are going to be more difficult than before. "According to our estimates, the coming days will be more difficult than before, not only for us but for the entire world. We have to deal accurately with the risk of infection among [Palestinian] workers returning from the 1948 lands," Shtayyeh said. He ordered the security forces to consider stricter measures at crossing points used by Palestinian workers in their way to work in Israel and back to their homes in the West Bank, as well as on the transportation of individuals between governorates during the current emergency state. Shtayyeh further ordered a home quarantine for all residents of the West Bank village of Biddo, northwest of Jerusalem, where 13 cases of coronavirus were confirmed.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2202126/israels-shabak-track-movement-coronavirus-carriers
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