Ex-Mossad chief opens up about "life-saving" intel Israel provides to other countries

The former chief of Israel's intelligence agency, Yossi Cohen, said that Israel should demand policy concessions from Western countries in return for the life-saving intelligence it provides them.

Cohen made the remarks while speaking at a conference of the Israeli legal centre Shurat HaDin in New York on October 28, Caliber.Az reports citing Israeli media outlets.

The ex-head of Mossad emphasised that during his tenure, the agency repeatedly shared critical intelligence with international partners, including Australia. He recalled an operation in which Israeli intelligence prevented a terrorist attack on an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Dubai.

According to him, Israeli information “saved hundreds of lives”, but Cohen expressed dissatisfaction that Canberra recognised the Palestinian state in response.

The former intelligence leader also noted that Israel regularly shares intelligence with the CIA and Britain’s MI6, helping to prevent terrorist attacks worldwide.

"We need to trade this coordinated intelligence, which ultimately saves lives, for improved support. I'm not proposing the Mossad or Israel's intelligence forces cease collecting or sharing intelligence with our global partners to protect other people's lives [meaning non-Israelis], but I am proposing we trade it differently," Cohen said.

Speaking about the ceasefire deal, Cohen said that while “this isn’t a perfect agreement,” it was nonetheless the right moment for a truce, and “a price worth paying to secure the hostages’ release.”

According to Cohen, Israel should reconsider its relationship with Qatar once the remains of all hostages are returned. He explained that Israel never had genuine ties with Qatar, using it only as a go-between to transfer funds to Gaza — money that was supposed to support civilians but ultimately “ended up in the hands of Hamas.” He called this approach a mistake, saying it was “intended as humanitarian aid but resulted in financing terror.”

By Nazrin Sadigova