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According to him, it was a mistake to rely on these aid funds in an effort to bring calm to the Gaza Strip.
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“Sampai Operation Guardian of the Walls [Operasi Penjaga Tembok], we hope Qatar’s involvement and Qatar’s money will lead us to a settlement with Hamas,” Cohen said in a speech to Israeli Friends from Bar-Ilan University on Monday night.
“But things got a little out of control,” he said Times of Israel, Tuesday (8/6/2021).
Shortly after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect late last month, Qatar announced that it would provide $500 million for the reconstruction of Gaza after the bloody 11-day conflict.
Qatar has funneled cash into the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas for years with Israel’s approval. The Gulf state had pledged $360 million in aid to Gaza at the start of the year.
During his time as head of the Mossad, Cohen was responsible for relations between Israel and Qatar, as there were no direct diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In February 2020, Cohen reportedly visited Qatar to convince Doha not to stop its funding to Hamas. Yisrael Beytenu’s party leader, Avigdor Liberman, claimed at the time that Cohen, at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, went to “beg” Qatar to resume payments to Gaza.
“This is a policy of submitting to terror,” Liberman said at the time, adding that Israel paid Hamas “protection money” to keep calm.
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In his speech on Monday, Cohen also said Israel had made clear to the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations that if the United States pulled its troops out of Iraq, Iran would easily conquer the country.
“This is part of their vision,” he said, pointing out that Tehran was responsible for several recent cross-border fire from Syria into Israel during the Gaza war.
Cohen, who was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bar-Ilan University last month, retired as head of Mossad on June 1 after more than five years in office. He was replaced by David Barnea, who has been with Mossad for the last 25 years, including in prominent operational roles.
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