Israel keeping Hamas leaders alive is a political decision - former Mossad head

In an interview with KAN11 on Thursday the former head of Mossad Yossi Cohen said that whether to assassinate Hamas leadership abroad is a question of politics not a question of capability.

During the interview, Cohen was asked, "Why haven't they [the Hamas leadership] been eliminated?"

Answering, he said, "It's a political decision, every operation, according to foreign publications, of course, has three elements outside the State of Israel's control."

"First, the target - valent or not, and it is irrelevant if it is a physical target or another kind, second, whether the operational unit assigned to the task is capable of carrying out the mission and returning safely. Third, what will be the response?"

"Any discussion like this ends with a political decision only. The policy, if we want, can also change with regard to senior Hamas officials. The ability, according to foreign publications, exists."

Pulled into politics

Cohen has recently been slowly pulled into politics as gaps have opened on the right with Likud dropping in the polls. Although he has declined to give a definitive answer telling the interviewer when asked if he wanted to be Prime Minister, "It's interesting, it's an interesting job."

He expressed strong support for disengagement from Gaza, saying he was in favor of a total disengagement. 

"We are in a situation where Israel has taken responsibility for the Gaza Strip, also at the civilian levels. We are transferring electricity, water, goods from Ashdod port," he said. "Hamas needs to be eliminated, but since it sees itself as sovereign, [instead] it needs to be worried."

Cohen has been tapped as a possible successor to Netanyahu. Cohen's interview prompted Netanyahu loyalist Tally Gotliv to call on Likud members to rethink Cohen as a possible successor saying, "Cohen was interviewed and said that Gaza should be recognized as an independent political entity with a port and an airport and compared Gaza to Manhattan! Yossi Cohen could possibly be the chairman of Meretz, not Likud."

She also said, "And just wondering how another Mossad person is wrong to think so," alluding to her recent spat with the Mossad where she claimed prominent anti-judicial reform protest leader Shikma Bressler coordinated with Mossad and Yahya Sinwar to cause October 7.

Bressler announced that she has filed a NIS 2.6m. defamation suit against Gotliv as well as six other online influencers for resharing false claims about Bressler.