Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked former Shin Bet Chief Yoram Cohen to eavesdrop on ministers and senior officers who were involved in a major security event, Cohen revealed on Thursday.
The allegations stem from a 2018 incident and are reportedly connected to MK Benny Gantz, who was serving as the IDF Chief of Staff at the time.
Cohen emphasized that he saw the prime minister’s request to spy on Israeli officials not as eavesdropping but rather as “using tools against anyone who is privy to the secret, including wiretapping.”
Cohen emphasized that conspiracies arise when “a lack of public awareness” is combined with “consciousness engineering.” He connected this to October 7, 2023, asserting that “people close to Netanyahu” are actively shaping a narrative suggesting that the “failure on October 7th was entirely the military’s fault.”
These two statements, that the prime minister had requested the Shin Bet to eavesdrop on high-ranking Israeli security officials and that people close to Netanyahu were allegedly working on “engineering” Israeli consciousness, follow further earlier remarks made by the former Shin Bet chief the day before.
During a Zionist Right conference at the Begin Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday, aimed at halting the ultra-Orthodox draft law, Cohen noted, “If there were a possibility for the Zionist Israeli government to negotiate with the ultra-Orthodox, for them to serve the State of Israel out of their own free will, that would be preferable.”
Cohen criticizes ultra-Orthodox draft policy
However, he said that he doesn’t think the ultra-Orthodox community would wish to serve in the army. He then emphasized that in such a case, Israel could possibly “adopt the approach of establishing a government that can decide on this matter and impose sanctions, which will also include employment.”
Cohen also stressed that, in his opinion, “Arabs should also serve” in the army. He also expressed his steadfast stance concerning the establishment of a Palestinian State, saying, “There must be a clear and definite ‘no’ to the establishment of a Palestinian state. This possibility is unrealistic, unachievable, and must not be allowed. This was also true before October 7.”
Regarding the possibility of joining politics, he responded, “I haven’t decided on this yet, but I’m not ruling out entering politics.”
The Prime Minister’s Office responded to his statements.
“Yoram Cohen, who is deep in a political campaign, is trying to create another fabricated ‘scandal,'” the PMO stated. “The prime minister sought to protect vital state secrets, followed the legal recommendations, acted according to the law, and did not infringe upon anyone’s rights.”
“Contrary to Cohen’s statements, the real threat to democracy in Israel is not from elected officials but from law enforcement authorities who refuse to accept the will of the voters and are trying to carry out a political coup through unrestrained political investigations, which are unacceptable in any democracy.”
