Former Mossad chief: Assassinating Hamas leaders abroad is a political decision

Cohen is a candidate to succeed Netanyahu in the Likud Party (Reuters)

The former head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad), Yossi Cohen, said that the assassination of leaders from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) abroad requires studying several elements, but in the end it is primarily a political decision, according to what the Jerusalem Post reported on Friday from the Kan 11 channel. ".

In an interview with the Kan 11 channel, affiliated with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Cohen responded to the question, “Why was the Hamas leadership not eliminated?” saying: It is a political decision that requires 3 elements.

He explained that the first element “represents the goal, is it “equivalent or not” and it does not matter if it is a material goal or another type. He added that the second element studies whether the operational unit assigned to the mission is able to carry out the mission and return safely. And the third element: what will be Reply?

The former intelligence official added that any such discussion ends only with a political decision.

Cohen has slowly entered politics recently with the Likud Party falling in the polls. Although he refused to give a specific answer on whether he wanted to become prime minister, he replied, "It is interesting, it is an interesting job."

He expressed his strong support for the disengagement from Gaza, saying that he supports complete disengagement.

Cohen was chosen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but his statements prompted Likud Party member in the Knesset, Tali Gottlief, to call for a rethink of this succession.

Gottliff criticized Cohen's statements and considered them a call to recognize Gaza as an independent political entity with a port and an airport. She said that Cohen could be head of the Meretz party (left-wing Jewish party) and not Likud.

A previous poll, published by Maariv last November, revealed that 13% of the Israelis polled believed that Cohen was more suitable to lead Likud instead of Netanyahu, while 12% said that Defense Minister Yoav Galant was more suitable.

Source: Israeli press