The former head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, is alleged to have threatened the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, in an effort to halt a war crimes investigation, according to a report by the Guardian. Cohen’s covert meetings with Bensouda occurred before she decided to formally investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories, a decision made in 2021.
This investigation recently led Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, a move that has long been feared by Israel’s military and political leadership. The charges relate to actions taken during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Cohen’s operations against the ICC were reportedly authorized at high levels within Israel, justified by perceived threats of prosecutions against Israeli military personnel. Mossad’s goals included compromising Bensouda or convincing her to cooperate with Israel.
Sources familiar with the situation disclosed that Cohen acted as Netanyahu’s “unofficial messenger” and led a nearly decade-long effort to undermine the court. Bensouda had informed a small circle of senior ICC officials about Cohen’s increasingly persistent and aggressive attempts to influence her decisions, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the judicial process.
