Israel has refused to licence and sell spyware tool Pegasus to Ukraine and Estonia over its relationship with Russia. 

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Israel’s reason for refusing to grant licences to NSO Group, Pegasus’ maker, depends on whether the countries intend to use the weapon against Russia. 

Israel’s relationship with Russia has come under scrutiny since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.  The Ukrainian government had also sought the support of Israel. 

On Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky  chastised the Israeli parliament for not providing his country with the Iron Dome anti-missile system and other defensive weapons, and for refusing to impose strict economic sanctions on Russia like other Western nations. 

In February, the Times reported that Israeli officials denied a request by a Ukrainian delegation to buy the spyware, ahead of Russia’s military presence at the Ukrainian border.

The refusal to sell the spyware to Ukraine and Estonia dates back several years. Since 2014, Ukraine has considered itself as a direct target of Russia’s assault and intelligence. However, Israel imposed a near-total ban on selling weapons, including Pegasus, to Ukraine.

For Estonia, negotiations to acquire Pegasus started in 2018, and Israel initially agreed to the sale. Estonia then made a down payment of $30 million for the spyware system.

In 2019, Ukrainian officials again tried to convince Israel to license the spyware tool for use by Ukraine, but Israel’s Ministry of Defence refused to grant licences to NSO Group to make the sale. 

Pegasus can be used to hack into any mobile phone and block phone conversations, read text messages or view a user’s pictures. It can also be used as a remote listening device as attackers can use it to remotely turn a mobile phone recorder on and off.

Last November, United States President Joe Biden placed the NSO on a “blacklist” of firms banned from doing business with American companies.