Former ICC Prosecutor Accuses Mossad of Intimidating Her at Her Home to Protect Israel
Former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, has denounced an intense campaign of pressure and intimidation by Israel aimed at forcing her to close the investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine (Middle East Eye, 2026).
Bensouda, who led the Office of the Prosecutor between 2012 and 2021, opened a preliminary examination in 2015 into violations committed in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, primarily attributed to Israeli forces and also to Palestinian armed groups (Al Jazeera, 2026).
Shortly after launching that inquiry, two men appeared directly at her home in The Hague and handed her an envelope containing $500, supposedly as a “thank you” gesture. Bensouda interpreted the act as a clear threat: “They came directly to my house. I understood the message they were sending,” she recalled (Middle East Eye, 2026).
She immediately reported the incident to the Dutch police and ICC security. The investigation revealed that the men’s phone numbers were linked to Israel and that the vehicle in which they arrived had been rented at the airport, confirming the connections to Israel (Middle East Eye, 2026).
Subsequently, then-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen met with her in Munich and New York to explicitly ask her to abandon the investigation. “What was clear is that he did not want the Palestine investigation to continue,” Bensouda stated (TRT World, 2026).
The former Gambian prosecutor felt abandoned by the ICC’s member states. “I felt alone. I felt unsupported,” she lamented despite having reported the threats (Al Jazeera, 2026).
These revelations have reignited the debate over political interference in international justice. Israel categorically denies the allegations.
References
Al Jazeera. (2026). Talk to Al Jazeera: Fatou Bensouda on Israeli threats against her and the ICC.
Middle East Eye. (2026). Former ICC prosecutor says Mossad chief pressured her to stop investigating Israel war crimes.
TRT World. (2026). Former ICC chief says Mossad pressured her to stop investigating Israel.