Israeli Mossad chief threatened ICC prosecutor over war crimes probe

The former Israeli Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, threatened the previous International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in a bid to force her to drop a war crimes investigation against Israel, The Guardian reports.

In a series of covert meetings, which sources that The Guardian spoke with described as tantamount to "'stalking", the Mossad chief is reported to have told Bensouda: “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”

According to the report, four sources confirmed that Bensouda had informed a small group of senior ICC officials about Cohen's attempts to sway her as his behaviour became increasingly threatening.