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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Cohen, who announced<\/a> on Tuesday he was entering politics and joining Eisenkot\u2019s party, said he did so in response to what he called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s failures, warning it will be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d for the country if the current government is reelected.<\/p>\n \t \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t seen the behavior of Mr. Netanyahu, of his government, of the failures\u2026 of the future risk, I wouldn\u2019t have entered politics,\u201d he said in the TV interview.<\/p>\n Cohen objected to the inclusion in the Netanyahu government \u2014 which is currently advancing an \u201cevasion law<\/a>\u201d \u2014 of \u201cnon-Zionist\u201d elements who \u201cdo not serve in the army, and send our children to repeated wars while they themselves do not serve,\u201d referring to the coalition\u2019s two ultra-Orthodox parties.<\/p>\n He also denounced ministers \u201cwho have a criminal background and administer the law\u201d in apparent reference to Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police and has been accused of unduly influencing law enforcement.<\/p>\n \t Cohen slammed Netanyahu for refusing to allow a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. \u201cI am surprised at us, too, at our public that gives legitimacy to people who stood at the head of the system on October 7, for example, the prime minister specifically, who also shaped the policy in the preceding years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The former Shin Bet head additionally castigated Netanyahu for his attacks on the judiciary and law enforcement, repeating a previous claim that Netanyahu once asked him to \u201cdisqualify<\/a>\u201d political rival Naftali Bennett from his security cabinet by revoking Bennett\u2019s security clearance. Netanyahu\u2019s office has denied the claim and accused Cohen of making it up.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him I wouldn\u2019t do it. I reported it to those who needed to be reported to immediately afterward,\u201d including Bennett himself, Cohen told Channel 12.<\/p>\n \t He further accused the prime minister of attempting to employ the Shin Bet against his political rivals in 2019, when Netanyahu allegedly phoned Cohen\u2019s successor as Shin Bet chief, Nadav Argaman, to demand he declare Benny Gantz unfit to be prime minister due to reports the Blue and White party leader\u2019s phone was allegedly hacked by Iranian operatives.<\/p>\n Cohen has also previously claimed<\/a> that during his tenure, Netanyahu asked him more than once to carry out \u201cillegitimate acts,\u201d such as requesting that he wiretap the government\u2019s top defense officials to ensure they were not leaking information from a particularly sensitive security meeting.<\/p>\n Netanyahu moved from targeting individuals to launching attacks on the entire system after his criminal indictment for corruption in late 2019, Cohen asserted in Saturday night\u2019s interview, accusing the premier of appointing officials based on \u201cpersonal loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n \t He said current Shin Bet chief David Zini will need a \u201ca strong backbone\u201d to stand up to inappropriate demands from Netanyahu and that he is worried about Zini\u2019s stance on several issues, including the postponement of hearings in Netanyahu\u2019s criminal trial for ostensible security reasons<\/a> and the so-called Qatargate<\/a> scandal involving aides to Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Asked if he would sit in government with Arab parties, Cohen replied that to be partners they would need to recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, back universal military and national service as well as support the principles of Israel\u2019s Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n \u201cAny party that agrees to these three parameters will be relevant,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n He added, however, that he would not want to have to rely on an Arab party for the coalition to muster a Knesset majority, instead backing a \u201cZionist\u201d majority coalition that others could then join.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260329YS28-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference ahead of final votes on the 2026 state budget at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 29, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/F250319YS430-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) in the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP_16243343442930-e1542381032871-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and then-Education Minister Naftali Bennett, left, attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office in Jerusalem, Tuesday, August 30, 2016. (Abir Sultan\/Pool\/via AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/F260327CG17-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tShin Bet director David Zini attends the funeral of an Israeli at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, March 27, 2026, (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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