The latest documents leaked by Edward Snowden were published on Friday by The New York Times and The Guardian, disclosing British and the United States have been targeting a senior European Union official, German government buildings and the Israeli prime minister's office, the Times reported.
The new documents show widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency and British counterpart Government Communications Headquarters and has angered U.S. allies and intensified the debate about privacy and security, according to the Times.
In January 2009, the documents show GCHQ and the NSA spied on the Israeli Prime Minister's email address and emails between previous Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Yoni Koren, his chief of staff, the Times reported.
The United Nations Children's Fund, French aid organization Médecins du Monde, French oil and gas firm Total and French defense company Thales Group were also among others monitored, according to the Times.
An NSA spokeswoman claimed they were not spying in order to help U.S. business, but instead for national security reasons. The European Commission said spying on one of its senior officials is "unacceptable," Reuters reported
"We do not use our foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of - or give intelligence we collect to - U.S. companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line," the spokeswoman said, according to Reuters.
"The intelligence community's efforts to understand economic systems and policies, and monitor anomalous economic activities, are critical to providing policy-makers with the information they need to make informed decisions that are in the best interest of our national security."
"This piece of news follows a series of other revelations which, as we clearly stated in the past, if proven true, are unacceptable and deserve our strongest condemnation," a spokesman for the European Commission said, Reuters reported. "This is not the type of behaviour that we expect from strategic partners, let alone from our own member states."
The Guardian pointed out that GCHQ was targeting German government buildings in Berlin after British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a European Agreement condemning the NSA's spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In response, GCHQ said it knew about the reports but made no further comment on the documents.
"Our work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate," a GCHQ spokesman said, Reuters reported.
