Former director of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, allegedly threatened the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in secret meetings to try to pressure her to stop investigating war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, she said on Tuesday. The keeper.

A British newspaper points out that Yossi Cohen, former head of Mossad, He personally participated in a “secret plot” to pressure the lawyer at several meetings. Fatou Bensouda According to the newspaper’s sources, in order to get her to stop the investigation into Palestine.

The keeper claims there were secret contacts between Cohen and Bensouda for several years before a decision is made to initiate a formal investigation investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Revelations about Cohen’s operation They are part of the investigation The keeper which shows how several Israeli intelligence agencies carried out The “secret” war against this court lasted almost ten years.

The ICC investigation, which began in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor Karim Khan announced that he was trying obtain an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the conduct of this country in the war in the Gaza Strip.

Cohen’s involvement in the operation against this court occurred, according to this, when he was director of Mossad According to the Israeli official, their activities received high-level approval and were justified by the fact that the trial posed a threat to the military.

Another Israeli source, cited by the newspaper and having information about the operation against Bensouda, said that the Mossad’s goal was “compromise” the prosecutor as if it were someone who would agree to meet Israel’s demands.

According to another source familiar with the operation, Cohen, one of Netanyahu’s closest allies at the time, acted as “unofficial envoy” of the Prime Minister of Israel, and personally oversaw Mossad’s participation in a nearly decade-long campaign to undermine the court.

Four sources confirmed that Bensouda briefed a small group of senior court officials. about Cohen’s attempts to “influence” her.

The ICC said Cohen allegedly told Bensouda: “You must help us and let us take care of you. “You would not want to get involved in matters that could jeopardize your safety or the safety of your family.”

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A person with access to Cohen’s activities also indicated that he used ‘Despicable tactics’ against lawyer as part of his efforts to “intimidate and influence” her.

According to this, the Mossad was also interested in in the family of a lawyer and even received copies of her husband’s secret recordings. Israeli officials later tried to use this material to discredit the prosecutor.

(EFE)