An article adapted from Middle East Eye alleges that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is intensifying efforts to influence elections in Europe, South America and elsewhere to bring pro-Israel governments to power. Author Antony Loewenstein links those claims to Israel’s arms and surveillance-technology sector, arguing that private companies operate closely with the state and advance its interests internationally.

The article cites reporting by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and two other media outlets on NSO Group, maker of Pegasus spyware. It says NSO co-founder Shalev Hulio played a central role in selling Pegasus to Panama in 2012 and used a diplomatic passport when entering Panama in 2013. The article argues that surveillance companies’ access to mobile-phone data could provide information usable for political influence.

It further alleges that Israeli companies have used bot farms, disinformation against pro-Palestinian candidates and social-media manipulation in places including Scotland, France, Colombia and Honduras. The piece describes alleged efforts to weaken left-wing or governments considered unfriendly to Israel and the United States in Latin America. Its suggestion of possible Israeli assistance to a Brazilian campaign is presented as the author’s inference rather than a documented finding.