Former Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen confirmed Thursday that Benjamin Netanyahu had asked him to use his service’s “special capabilities” to monitor high-level confidants. This revelation, which follows a report published in 2018, sparked new political controversy in Israel. According to Cohen, the request concerned a sensitive strategic project involving hundreds of people within the IDF, Mossad and other agencies. Netanyahu, fearing leaks, reportedly requested increased surveillance of all those holding the secret, including the then chief of staff and director of Mossad.
“The prime minister asked me to use my tools – that anyone in the secret be monitored by the Shin Bet,” Cohen said in a public radio interview. “I refused to do so. First, there was no specific suspicion about a specific person. Second, it was not appropriate for me to monitor all my colleagues.”
In response to these revelations, Netanyahu reacted strongly, accusing Cohen of participating in a “political campaign” and creating a “fabricated affair”. “The real threat to Israeli democracy comes not from elected officials, but from elements of law enforcement who refuse to accept the voters’ verdict and attempt to orchestrate a coup through unbridled political investigations “, said the Prime Minister’s Office.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid intervened in the debate, saying: “There is no doubt about who is telling the truth between Yoram Cohen and Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Cohen said an alternative solution was eventually found, entrusting the mission to the Defense Ministry’s security department, an organization with more limited eavesdropping capabilities than the Shin Bet. “I didn’t want the Shin Bet, instead of capturing terrorists and spies, to find itself monitoring the intelligence community,” he explained.
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