Amb. Fatou Bensouda Says Israel Pressured and Intimidated Her Over Palestine War Crimes Probe

Published by: The Fatu Network

Gambian diplomat and former International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says Israel pressured and intimidated her during the ICC’s investigation into war crimes in Palestine, including warnings that she and her family could be harmed if the case continued.

Bensouda made the revelations in an interview with Al Jazeera, where she described what she said was a sustained pressure campaign linked to the Palestine investigation she formally opened while serving as the ICC’s top prosecutor.

“They came directly to my house,” Bensouda said, recalling how two men linked to Israel visited her home in The Hague after the investigation began in 2015.

According to Bensouda, the men handed her an envelope containing $500 and claimed it came from someone she had previously helped. She said the encounter left her disturbed.

Bensouda, who served as ICC chief prosecutor from 2012 to 2021 and now serves as The Gambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, said she felt isolated as the pressure mounted around the politically explosive case.

“I felt left alone. I felt unsupported,” she said.

She also accused Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, of repeatedly attempting to pressure her into abandoning the Palestine investigation during official meetings involving its leadership.

“What was clear was that he didn’t want the investigation on Palestine to go on,” Bensouda said.

The former prosecutor further revealed that the pressure escalated into warnings about her safety and that of her family.

“You really need to stop, this is going very far,” she recalled being told. “You could be harmed or you could be killed or family members could be harmed in some ways.”

The claims have revived global attention on a 2024 investigation by The Guardian, which alleged that former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen personally sought to pressure and intimidate Bensouda over the ICC’s Palestine case.

According to The Guardian, Cohen allegedly told her: “You should help us and let us take care of you.”

Bensouda has previously described the campaign against her as involving “thug-style tactics,” saying threats and intimidation did not stop her office from pursuing its mandate.

The ICC investigation into Palestine has long been fiercely opposed by Israel, which does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel has previously denied allegations of spying and intimidation against the ICC, calling such claims “false and unfounded.”