The relevant examination in our case is whether the defendant's right to privacy has been violated, and if so, whether this infringement justifies the disqualification of evidence.
We note section 56A(a) of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971, which states: "The court hearing a criminal trial may refuse to accept evidence that was obtained illegally, including the statement of a defendant or witness, an object or any other evidence, if it is convinced that its admission at trial would substantially violate the right to a fair trial, taking into account the nature and severity of the violation, the extent of the impact of the violation on the evidence obtained, and the public interest in accepting or not accepting the evidence; In this subsection, "infringement" means unlawful obtaining of evidence."
Even if we were of the opinion that the evidence was obtained unlawfully, the "public interest in its acceptance" (in the words of the section) would have required that it be allowed, in view of the severity of the offense being investigated, and in view of the fact that the "violation", i.e., the alleged invasion of privacy, did not "influence" the evidence.
The order to receive Ituran's data was issued by virtue of legal authority - following a request submitted to the Magistrate's Court by the Investigative Unit, and in accordance with Section 43 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance [Arrest and Search] [New Version], 5729-1969. It seems that there can be no dispute that such an order, under the aforementioned Ordinance, and the use of Ituran data violates the right to privacy. However, this is a very limited injury that relates only to the location of the Chevrolet vehicle at specific times. Compared to other data that an investigative unit can request (for example, by virtue of the Criminal Procedure Law (Enforcement Powers - Communication Data), 5768-2007), such as communication data that includes conversations, messages transmitted to their destination and time (without the content of the message), as well as location data, the use of Ituran data constitutes a proportionate measure.