The Pegasus spyware is under the spotlight again with an investigative report by the NYT published on Friday, 28 January, which claims that the Indian government purchased the controversial cyber-weapon, as the NYT puts it, in 2017 as part of a larger arms deal with Israel.
The NYT report states that the two countries agreed on the sale of the spyware in part of a weapons and intelligence deal worth roughly $2 billion in July 2017 when PM Modi visited Israel.
It also notes that since this visit, India’s stance on some of its policies like commitment to the Palestinian cause changed, citing India’s vote in support of Israel at the UN Economic and Social Council to deny observer status to a Palestinian human rights organization.