British media reports that former Mossad director Yossi Cohen held secret meetings with the ICC prosecutor to dissuade her from investigating Israel for war crimes.

By: A7Staff

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen lobbied to pressure the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to refrain from opening an investigation against Israel.

According to The Guardian, Cohen initiated a plan to pressure the prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who had already left her position, before she made the decision in 2021 to open an investigation against Israel on suspicion of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories.

Various sources told the newspaper that the former Mossad chief threatened the former prosecutor, allegedly, in closed meetings he held with her prior to the decision to open an investigation against Israel. The investigation was opened three years ago and was behind the current prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Kareem Khan, requesting the issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Several sources told the newspaper that the prosecutor had shared with a small group of senior ICC officials the former Mossad chief’s attempts to prevent her from opening an investigation and had even claimed to feel threatened by his behavior. An Israeli source said that Cohen had acted with the authority and approval of the government, and had explained that the ICC had repeatedly threatened Israel with indictments of senior officials.

Last week, the Attorney General Gali Beharav-Miara and the State Prosecutor Amir Ohana responded negatively to the request of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “The request for the issuance of arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister is devoid of any basis,” they wrote in a joint statement.

The two added that, “The State of Israel is a democratic state, which is fighting terrorism and defending its security while adhering to the binding legal rules and out of a deep commitment to the law. The security forces, and the IDF in particular, are fighting with a full commitment to the rules of international law.”

“The Israeli legal system is equipped to examine any serious claim, both with regard to matters of policy and with regard to individual cases. As the State of Israel has made clear over the years, the ICC lacks any authority to conduct an investigation into the matter,” they concluded.

In other news, on Tuesday, Arutz Sheva also reported that IDF troops are continuing to operate in the northern Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorists and locating weapons in the area.

Over the past day, the troops dismantled terrorist infrastructure in the Jabaliya area, including terror tunnel shafts, observation posts, a weapons storage facility, and a military structure used by Hamas. In one operation, a terrorist cell that had fired mortar shells toward IDF troops was eliminated in an aerial strike directed by ground troops.

IDF troops also continued to operate in the Rafah area. Overnight, IDF troops operated on the Philadelphi Corridor while conducting precise operational activity based on intelligence indicating the presence of terror targets in the area. The activity is being conducted as efforts are continuing to be made in order to prevent harm to uninvolved civilians in the area. The troops are engaging with terrorists in close-quarters combat.

          (IsraelNationalNews.com)