Ex-ICC prosecutor reveals years-long Mossad intimidation to derail probe into Israeli war crimes

Former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda says she was subjected to a nearly decade-long intimidation campaign by Israel’s Mossad aimed at forcing her to abandon an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Bensouda revealed in a speech in The Hague that she faced sustained coercion and intimidation, including threats, surveillance, and pressure targeting her family. Mossad sought to obstruct the ICC’s Palestine investigation through these measures.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen personally led parts of the operation, acting as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unofficial messenger” in an effort to pressure the former prosecutor to drop the case.

Despite the pressure campaign, the ICC formally authorized a criminal investigation into the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.

The reported intimidation effort began in 2015, after Bensouda opened a preliminary examination into violence in Palestine.

In one incident, unidentified individuals delivered an envelope containing $500 to her home, which she said was intended as a signal that she was under surveillance.

“They came directly to my house,” Bensouda told Al Jazeera. “I got the message that they’re sending.”

She later said the pressure escalated, including a secret meeting in New York where Cohen confronted her and warned that continuing the investigation could endanger her and her family.

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Mossad is also reported to have conducted a smear campaign targeting Bensouda’s husband using transcripts of intercepted recordings in an unsuccessful attempt to discredit her.

Bensouda said she felt “left alone” and “unsupported” throughout the process, urging the European Union to strengthen protections for the ICC against foreign intimidation and sanctions.

The revelations come amid increased pressure on the court following requests for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli war minister Yoav Gallant.

The intimidation campaign coincided with US sanctions imposed on Bensouda in 2020, followed by later measures targeting current ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and several judges, including asset freezes and restrictions on personal bank accounts.

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