Israeli security allowed to seek check of tourists’ e-mail
If you’re a tourist arriving in Israel, you might be asked to give authorities a look at your personal e-mail, in addition to your travel documents.
Israel’s attorney general said Wednesday that Shin Bet, the country’s internal security force, can search a foreign traveler’s e-mail, but only in exceptional cases in which « relevant suspicious signs » are observed. Israel says the practice is another way to fight terrorism.
The threat of using foreign citizens for terrorist purposes is a growing trend, the Israeli Attorney General’s Office said in a written response to an inquiry filed by an Israeli human rights group.
Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told CNN: « Security may under the law demand this, but no one is forced to open their accounts to anyone they don’t want to. »