Former Mossad Boss Threatens ICC Prosecutor to Stop Israel Investigation

GAZA – Former boss Mossad , Yossi Cohen, reportedly pressured former ICC (International Court of Justice) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to close the Israeli war crimes investigation. This was reported by the British newspaper, The Guardian.

According to the report, Cohen and Bensouda met secretly in the years before her decision to open an official investigation in 2021 into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories.

Netanyahu’s Unofficial Envoy

The Guardian noted that Cohen’s involvement against the ICC occurred when he served as head of Mossad. The report quoted an Israeli source who noted that the Mossad attempted to “compromise the prosecutor or cast him as someone willing to cooperate with Israel’s demands.”

Another source told The Guardian that Cohen was acting as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unofficial emissary.”

Threatening the Prosecutor and His Family

The Guardian quoted Cohen as saying, “You have to help us and let us look after you. You don’t want to get involved in things that could endanger your or your family’s safety.”

Another account of intimidation was revealed by The Guardian, which added that the Mossad, under Cohen’s tenure, took an interest in the prosecutor’s family, even obtaining transcripts of conversations between Bensouda and her husband in an attempt to use them to discredit him.

A person quoted by The Guardian stated that Cohen used “despicable tactics” against the former prosecutor, even likening his behavior to “stalking”.

Additionally, in an attempt to influence Bensouda, Israel was reportedly supported by Joseph Kabila, the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who played an unknown role in supporting the plot.

This investigation came to light after Karim Khan, Bensouda’s successor, announced his intention to request arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, among them Netanyahu.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, when contacted by The Guardian, said, “The questions submitted to us were full of many false and unfounded accusations intended to harm the state of Israel.”

Mossad agent since 1980

Yossi Cohen, the former Mossad chief, is also a former Netanyahu confidant. He joined Mossad in the early 1980s and was appointed head of Mossad by Netanyahu in 2015. He retired from Israeli intelligence in 2021.

Cohen has been involved in other controversial incidents as Mossad chief. Earlier in May, he told the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that the Israeli government approached Qatar to fund civilian life in the Gaza Strip, including negotiating the transfer of money to Hamas.

The New York Times also corroborated Cohen’s claims, noting that he managed Qatar’s archives for several years while serving as Mossad chief. The report states that during his final years as head of the Mossad, he believed “there was little oversight of where the money went.”

(ahm)