Ex-Mossad head urges Israel to reassess Qatar ties.
According to the Zionist newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the former Mossad chief, who recently traveled to New York to attend and speak at the World Zionist Conference “Line of Justice” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, spoke last night in an interview with the organizers of the conference about the Gaza ceasefire agreement and developments in the region, and called for a review of relations with the Qataris after the release of the Zionist prisoners.
He said, “Israel has no real relationship with Qatar, and we only used them as a mediator to advance the agreement.”
Yossi Cohen criticized Qatar’s support for the Hamas movement and added, “The relationship with Qatar was a strategic mistake. Because the country’s financial support, which was supposed to be transferred to Gaza for humanitarian aid, actually reached Hamas and financed them.”
In this interview, the former Mossad chief rejected the claim of Zionist political officials about the involvement of Iran and Hezbollah in “Operation Storm Al-Aqsa” and said: “If there was such a thing, the Mossad would have announced this threat.”
Cohen also responded to speculation about participating in the upcoming Israeli elections (2026), saying: “Even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has implicitly said that I will succeed him in the upcoming elections, I do not intend to participate.” He did not rule out entering politics in the future, but said that he is not pursuing it now.
He added: “After October 7th (the Al-Aqsa storm), everything has changed and we need new and strong leadership.” Cohen, who served as Netanyahu’s homeland security advisor from 2016 to 2021, was elected head of Mossad. He has long been known as one of the closest people to the prime minister, along with Ron Dermer, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States and current Minister of Strategic Affairs.