Report: Israeli Spy Head Allegedly Pressured ICC Prosecutor

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Facts

  • The Guardian — in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call — has reported that a Mossad director allegedly engaged in an intimidation campaign against then-International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to get her to drop an Israeli war crimes investigation.1
  • Then-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen is said to have pressured Bensouda in secret meetings to abandon her 2021 case, attempting to persuade or compromise her. Bensouda reportedly informed the ICC of the 'threatening' nature of the interactions.2
  • The 2021 probe culminated last week with Bensouda's successor, Karim Khan, applying for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as senior Israeli and Hamas officials, for war crimes during the war in Gaza.3
  • Cohen's alleged campaign, which Israeli sources said was authorized at a high level, reportedly involved trying to get Bensouda to cooperate with Israel's interests — telling her that doing otherwise could 'compromise' her and her family's security.1
  • ICC sources called Cohen's tactics tantamount to 'stalking,' and alleged Cohen obtained recordings and photographs of Bensouda's husband. In meetings from 2017-2021, Cohen argued that a case against Israel would harm her career.4
  • Netanyahu's office called the allegations 'false and unfounded.' Bensouda ended her nine-year term at the ICC in 2021.4

Sources: 1Guardian, 2I24news, 3Al Jazeera and 4The New Arab.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Timesofisrael. This is a continuation of the ICC engaging in underhanded tactics to attack Israel. The ICC can't be taken seriously since it's a handmaiden for terrorist apologists and somehow finds a moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel. The ICC has trampled on all its founding principles in how it has treated Israel and Israelis have every right to be suspicious of its claims.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by English. Israel treats the international community with contempt every time the world attempts to hold it accountable. These allegations should come as no surprise since Israel continues to flout international law with impunity. More light is finally being shed on Israel's war crimes and how it has attempted to cover them up.

Predictions