Leaked Files: Morocco Used Israeli Pegasus Spyware against Journalists, Officials

July 16, 2026 News
According to a multinational investigation, Morocco secretly used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware. (Illustration: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

According to a multinational investigation, Morocco secretly used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to monitor journalists, activists, and senior European government officials for years.

Key Takeaways

  • A former Moroccan intelligence officer accuses Morocco of deploying Pegasus spyware from 2017 to surveil domestic and foreign targets.
  • The investigation links Moroccan intelligence to the targeting of journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians and senior Spanish officials.
  • The findings are based on whistleblower testimony, leaked documents and forensic analysis conducted with Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

Whistleblower Reveals Pegasus Operation

A former member of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service has provided detailed testimony stating that the country’s security apparatus used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware for years to monitor journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and security officials in Morocco and across Europe.

The statements emerge from a collaborative investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories and involving 14 international media organizations, including The Guardian, Le Monde, Haaretz, El Confidencial and Die Zeit, with technical support from Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

The investigation centers on testimony from a whistleblower, identified by the pseudonym “Safir,” who served for nearly a decade inside Morocco’s Direction Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST).

According to the investigation, Safir’s account is corroborated by leaked emails, internal training material, Pegasus targeting records, testimony from two additional former Moroccan intelligence officers and forensic analysis conducted by Amnesty International.

‘The Monster’s Weapon’

According to the investigation, Moroccan intelligence officers were introduced to Pegasus during a private demonstration organized by representatives of Israel’s NSO Group at a villa in Rabat in 2017.

The report says officers immediately recognized the software’s capabilities because it could remotely compromise mobile phones without requiring physical access.

Pegasus allows operators to access emails, messages, photographs and other data while also activating a device’s microphone and camera remotely.

The whistleblower said the expensive surveillance tool was supplied through the United Arab Emirates.

“Millions for the Emiratis, that’s nothing,” Safir said.

“The Emirates bought it and redistributed it to friendly services. You could say it’s like Netflix: a friend pays for the subscription, and the others use their account,” he added.

According to the former intelligence officer, Pegasus was reserved for only the highest-priority targets.

“We never start with Pegasus,” Safir said. “It’s the monster’s weapon.”

Journalists, Activists and European Officials

According to the investigation, Moroccan journalists and human rights defenders began appearing in Pegasus targeting systems in September 2017 before surveillance expanded internationally.

Among those reportedly targeted was Sahrawi human rights activist Aminatou Haidar, while Spanish journalist Ignacio Cembrero also appeared in leaked Pegasus records.

Moreover, more than 200 Spanish telephone numbers were reportedly selected for surveillance by the Pegasus operator believed to be Morocco.

The report further links Morocco to the alleged compromise of the mobile phones of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Defense Minister Margarita Robles, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Agriculture Minister Luis Planas during a diplomatic dispute between Madrid and Rabat over Western Sahara.

The consortium also reports that one Pegasus operator account allegedly used against French politicians, journalists and lawyers was the same account used to target senior Spanish officials.

‘We Spy on Everyone’

Moroccan intelligence reportedly monitored members of Spain’s Guardia Civil during joint security cooperation with Rabat.

According to leaked records, one senior Guardia Civil officer’s personal mobile number appeared five separate times among Pegasus targets.

“We spy on everyone,” one former DGST officer told the consortium.

The former officer added that such surveillance was conducted “just in case.”

A senior Guardia Civil official described the alleged spying as “a betrayal.”

“We didn’t do it because we didn’t suspect we would be spied on,” another senior intelligence officer from the force said.

Pegasus and Morocco

According to the investigation, additional evidence linking Morocco to Pegasus emerged during legal proceedings brought by Meta against NSO Group in the United States.

An internal presentation allegedly identified Pegasus customers through coded names.

Former NSO employees told investigators that Morocco operated under the codename ‘Morgan’.

The report also notes that NSO Group, the Israeli government, Moroccan authorities, the UAE and surveillance intermediary al-Fahad all declined or did not provide substantive comment.

(PC, The Guardian, Forbidden Stories)

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