Spanish judicial system hits dead end as Israel ignores Pegasus hacking probe. Attempts to uncover who orchestrated large-scale espionage against Spain’s top officials have run up against complete indifference from Israel. National Court judge José Luis Calama has openly stated that the investigation into the hacking of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet members’ mobile devices with Pegasus spyware has stalled entirely due to a lack of support from Israeli authorities. Over four years, the judge sent five formal cooperation requests but received no response. In effect, Israel has disregarded all the international commitments it once agreed to.
As a result, according to Calama, investigators have been forced to close the case for a second time, unable to find new leads. The reason is simple: without Israel’s cooperation, there is no way to pinpoint who was behind the attacks and hold those responsible accountable. Such conduct, the judge argues, undermines the foundation of international cooperation and raises doubts about the very possibility of investigating cybercrimes when one of the parties simply refuses to play by the rules.
Hacking the Highest Ranks
The story began in May 2022, when the National Court received a complaint from the State Legal Service. It alleged unauthorized access to the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles (Margarita Robles). It was later revealed that the attacks had also affected other government members: Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Fernando Grande-Marlaska) and Agriculture Minister Luis Planas (Luis Planas).
According to case files, the prime minister’s phone was infected five times between October 2020 and December 2021. In May 2021, 2.57 gigabytes of data were stolen from Sánchez’s device. Robles’ phone was attacked four times, while Grande-Marlaska’s and Planas’s devices were targeted twice and once respectively, with all incidents occurring in 2021.
Israel remains silent
Judge Calama tried from the start to obtain assistance from Israeli authorities, since NSO Group, the developer of Pegasus, is based in Israel. The first official request was sent on May 10, 2022—the Spanish side asked for help in obtaining information from NSO Group. A month later, another request followed: to allow a Spanish delegation to question the company’s CEO on Israeli territory.
No response followed. In September 2022 and April 2023, the Spanish authorities repeated their requests, but were again met with silence. The judge notes that not even formal confirmation of receipt of the documents has been provided. In July 2023, with no new developments, the investigation was suspended for the first time. However, in April 2024, the case was reopened—this time thanks to information from France, where authorities were investigating similar attacks on the phones of journalists, lawyers, and politicians.
International obligations
In February 2025, Calama contacted Israel again, but this request also went unanswered. The judge emphasizes that Israel is violating several international agreements, including the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 1959 and its Second Additional Protocol signed in 2006.
In his latest ruling, Calama notes that Israel not only ignores these requests but also fails to offer any alternative cooperation mechanisms. According to the judge, this behavior undermines the balance of international relations and erodes the principle of good faith, which should form the basis of relations between states.
Spanish helplessness
The judge does not hide their frustration: four years of seeking justice have been in vain. Despite every effort, Spain has failed to receive even minimal cooperation from the country where the main suspect is located. As a result, the investigation has once again been closed—not for lack of a crime, but because it is impossible to identify those responsible.
The situation borders on the absurd: international agreements signed to combat crime prove powerless when one side simply ignores its obligations. Spanish justice finds itself sidelined, deprived of the tools needed to uncover the truth. And as long as Israel remains silent, questions about the sweeping espionage against the Spanish government continue to go unanswered.
