Israel's parliament has voted to extend an identity database scheme that will link citizens to their biometric data.Following a request by the scheme's organising ministry, the Knesset voted 41-32 in favor of a nine-month extension of the current biometric database pilot program despite signs that support for the initiative, even within the coalition.Earlier this month, Israeli Interior Minister Arye Dery had said the pilot programme must be extended for another nine months to ensure it is a success.Last July, more than 70 Israeli computer scientists have written to the government seeking a re-think on the plans. In an open letter from academics including an Israel Prize laureate and former head of National Academy of Sciences, the scientists said the database will intrude on privacy and risk national security.”We, the undersigned, computer and information security specialists, are warning the prime minister, cabinet ministers and Knesset [parliament] members of the risks involved in making the Interior Ministry's experimental pilot biometric identification system compulsory for all residents of the State of Israel,” wrote the letter.

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