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Israel spy chief to seek post in Gulf States after end of his mandate

May 27, 2021 at 4:17 pm

Yossi Cohen, director of Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad on 3 July 2017 [HEIDI LEVINE/AFP/Getty Images]

Hebrew media reported that the chief of the national intelligence agency of Israel (Mossad), Yossi Cohen, is considering joining a new investment fund that will work with the Gulf States after the end of his mandate.

Walla yesterday quoted high-ranking officials, who it did not identify, as saying that Cohen, whose term ends on 1 June, held talks a few weeks ago about joining the new investment fund that his friend, former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is working to establish.

Cohen has not made a final decision yet, the sources said, adding that former US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is expected to join the fund.

During Trump’s term, Mnuchin and Friedman collaborated closely with Cohen and the Gulf Arab states.

The Times of Israel reported that this move would constitute a breach of existing procedures that prevent Cohen from conducting activities that may compromise information or issues related to his official duties as head of Mossad for several years after his departure from his position.

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The newspaper pointed out that Cohen has managed intelligence ties between Israel and Arab countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent years.

Cohen was Benjamin Netanyahu’s special envoy for efforts to normalise relations between the occupation state and its Arab neighbours. The UAEBahrainSudan and Morocco have now all built ties with the occupation.