It was a very public rebuke of a company that had in many ways become the crown jewel of the Israeli defense industry. They also allowed the Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces to use their countries as bases to launch operations against Arab nations. The Israeli Defense Ministry also licensed the sale of Pegasus to Hungary, despite Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s campaign of persecution against his political opponents. Now it was up to the Israeli Defense Ministry to decide whether or not to renew it. Numerous calls among Prince Mohammed’s aides, NSO executives, the Mossad and the Israeli Defense Ministry had failed to resolve the issue.
