Saudis Used Israeli Spyware; US Still Sells Arms to Both
Hanan Elatr Khashoggi's complaint points directly at Saudi Arabia's alleged use of Israeli-made NSO Group spyware, Pegasus, to track her husband, Jamal Khashoggi, before his 2018 murder. This isn't just about Saudi brutality; it's about the sophisticated surveillance tools, often developed with state backing, that enable such actions. The US government, despite its performative outrage over
Khashoggi's death, continues to be a major arms supplier to both Saudi Arabia and Israel. Indeed, the Biden administration approved $650 million in new arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2021 , while Israel received an average of $3.8 billion annually in military aid (Congressional Research Service, April 2023). So, Washington publicly condemns the murder of a journalist facilitated by advanced
surveillance tech, while simultaneously arming both the alleged perpetrator and the nation producing the alleged spy technology. One might wonder if the 'human rights' outrage is merely a prerequisite for securing more lucrative defense contracts. How many more journalist murders, enabled by these 'partners,' will it take before the US re-evaluates its 'moral' foreign policy?