Poland's Prime Minister accuses the previous government of leaking sensitive information to Israel

Warsaw - Ofoq News - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the previous government and his country's security services of "transferring sensitive information to Israel", against the backdrop of the Polish security service's use of the Israeli spy program "Pegasus", in a case that sparked widespread controversy within Poland, amid accusations that Tusk was inciting anti-Jewish strife.

Tusk said that the Polish security service's use of the program allowed information to be leaked to the company that developed it, noting that this matter was confirmed, according to him, by the Polish security services and the Internal Security Agency.

He explained that the Polish authorities signed a contract under which they paid more than 30 million zlotys to an Israeli company in exchange for obtaining the program, which is used for surveillance, location identification, eavesdropping, and espionage, adding that the Polish authorities did not have effective control over it, and that control remained in the hands of Israel and the Israeli company.

Tusk added that the money that was supposed to be allocated to victims of crimes in Poland was used to purchase a system that allowed the transfer of extensive information about Polish citizens, opposition leaders and independent prosecutors, he said.

The Prime Minister accused members of the previous government of "treason", considering that the information collected through the program was transferred to the Israeli side, while the Polish side had no actual control over it.

Criticisms and accusations of Tusk being anti-Jewish

Tusk's statements sparked criticism within Poland, as right-wing journalist and activist Pavel Rybicki wrote that the Prime Minister published a video clip that contained, as he described it, anti-Jewish overtones.

Rybicki accused Tusk of exploiting "anti-Semitism" in his political struggle to maintain power, claiming that he is trying to exploit this issue in the wake of his party's loss in decisive local elections in the city of Krakow, according to the report.

On the other hand, the former head of the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Service, Renfest Bidja, rejected Tusk’s statements, accusing him of misleading public opinion and distorting the facts regarding the purchase of the “Pegasus” program and its use by the security services.

Bidja said that the Polish security services used the program in accordance with the law, under the supervision of the Central Anti-Corruption Service and within the applicable controls, denying that the Israeli side was informed of the data related to the people against whom the program was used or the information collected through it.

He stressed that control of the system was in the hands of the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Service, rejecting Tusk's accusations regarding the Israeli company's access to information collected through the program.