The Guardian reported that Cohen secretly contacted and met with Bensouda when he decided to formally investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine.
The investigation, which began in 2021, ended last week. Bensouda’s successor, current prosecutor Karim Khan, then announced that he would seek an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.
Cohen personally began intervening against the ICC when he was director of the Mossad. An Israeli source said the Mossad’s motive behind Cohen’s operation against Bensouda was to compromise him or enlist him as someone who would cooperate with Israel’s demands.
Another Israeli source said Cohen acted as Netanyahu’s unofficial messenger. Cohen, who was one of Netanyahu’s closest allies at the time, is emerging as a political force in his own right in Israel. He has been humiliating the court for nearly a decade by personally implicating the Mossad in war crimes issues.
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Four sources confirmed that Bensouda briefed a small group of senior ICC officials on Cohen.
Three of these sources confirmed that Bensouda had formally opened up to the ICC. Bensouda disclosed Cohen’s pressure on him not to investigate the Palestinian issue at the ICC, the sources said.
According to an ICC official source, Bensouda was told – you should help us and let us take care of you. You certainly don’t want to be in a situation where you or your family’s safety is compromised.
When contacted by the Guardian, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said, “The questions sent to us are false and baseless.” This was done to hurt the state of Israel.
And Cohen did not respond when asked. Bensouda, on the other hand, refrained from commenting.
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