Ex-Mossad chief shared top Israeli secrets with woman, her spouse
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The man behind the Israeli intelligence agency had been subjected to criticism various times over repeatedly sharing"state" secrets publicly, this time with a flight attendant.
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Israeli Mossad chief Yossi Cohen
Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen had revealed top Israeli secrets to a woman with whom he was having an affair, and her husband, an Israeli report said Sunday.
The affair between Cohen and an unnamed flight attendant began in late 2018, Channel 13's report revealed. The relationship saw then-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen disclosing with the couple a wide array of secret details about the Israeli occupation, his agency's international operations, and his travels.
"He's a blabbermouth," his mistress' husband said, affirming that Cohen had told them a lot of stories, "including about Mossad."
Guy Shiker, the flight attendant's husband and a renowned figure in Israeli capital markets, told the Israeli channel Cohen disclosed various Mossad secrets, such as the agency "sitting" on a doctor of a prominent Arab leader, Cohen's management style, and several actions he carried out during his tenure.
In response to the report, Yossi Cohen claimed he never shared any security secrets or information he was not supposed to.
The Israeli channel had reported in June Cohen was suspected of sharing classified information with a flight attendant with whom he had close personal contact.
Cohen denied the allegations at the time as well, saying, "There is no flight attendant, there is no close relationship."
Cohen had been subject to criticism for revealing top Israeli secrets several times, such as the time he implied that Mossad blew up an Iranian centrifuge facility at Natanz, the time he detailed a 2018 Mossad operation that involved the agency stealing Iran's nuclear archive from Tehran, or when he confirmed that the Israeli occupation was behind the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
A few months back, the Israeli occupation forces probed claims against Cohen, some of which state that he was illicitly "gifted" up to $20,000.
The Israeli Mossad's chief admitted later to receiving the "gift" from an Australian billionaire, James Packer.
Cohen's term as Mossad chief ended in June, but he was appointed days later as the chair of the Japanese SoftBank activity in "Israel."
SoftBank invested in several Israeli tech companies, such as AnyVision and eToro, as per Pitchbook, an investment database.
SoftBank is notorious for its close ties with the Saudi Royal family, and it could be seen as a tool being used by Saudi to invest in Israeli tech without being clear-cut about it and without having any official or public ties with the occupation. Cohen being a senior SoftBank official in "Israel" could be very reassuring for KSA, considering that he has had several meetings with senior Saudi officials, including Mohammad bin Salman. This could create a backchannel between the Israelis and the Saudis without public scrutiny.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
