Yoram Cohen with an unusual message to David Zini: "Even if the Prime Minister asks"

Former Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen has joined politics in recent weeks under the "Yashar!" party led by Gadi Eizenkot. In an interview with Gideon Oko and Nissim Mishal on 103fm radio, he expressed his opinion on Israel's political situation, Eizenkot's promise to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failure, and shared advice for current Shin Bet head David Zini.

Cohen addressed the visits currently being made by members of the "Yashar!" party: "We are making efforts to reach new audiences. A large number of members on the list are going out in the coming days; we already started yesterday. Gadi was in Karmiel with council heads to talk about a project led by Shaul Meridor regarding the rehabilitation of the North."

He added: "I will be in the Golan Heights and Gesher HaZiv, meeting with people with the goal of influencing and trying to give hope to those who have been neglected in the North. We want to discuss plans to strengthen the country in general and the North in particular."

Later, Cohen responded to the confrontation between the White House and Jerusalem over the 15-point plan for the future of the Gaza Strip, in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Israel does not accept the initiative. "We are in a place of absolute stagnation. We have strategic blindness on all fronts. The fronts are open. We are not independent in our decision-making, to my great regret. Despite the Americans being our good friends, they make decisions over our heads, sometimes without our involvement in the negotiations."

According to him, the situation where a leader of a foreign country makes fateful decisions on the Israeli agenda is a sad reality. "Part of the problem is that we failed to design a plan that serves our security interests. All sorts of decisions were forced upon us and we are on the way to becoming a protectorate, both in the South and in the North."

"We need to change this," he demanded. "Both in the strategic aspect and in our relationship with the Americans, and by bringing new, more realistic solutions to the security challenges facing us."

Cohen addressed Gadi Eizenkot's commitment that the first decision of a government under his leadership would be the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. "A state commission of inquiry is something that 100 percent of the public should have supported. After such a difficult massacre and such dramatic damage to the State of Israel, the negative ripples of which we will carry for many years, one must investigate what did not work and what to do so that this does not repeat itself," he noted.

Afterwards, he discussed Shin Bet head David Zini: "I think Zini needs to appreciate his experience as an Aluf (Major General) in the army, but the service is a different, civilian body with many powers, operating in the Palestinian arena and within Israel. He must preserve statehood and a non-political nature even if the Prime Minister asks him to do illegal things."

He further emphasized regarding Zini's functioning: "There are, in my opinion, cracks in some of his decisions that I hope he will manage to stop. One is his statements. Two is issues like security. I don't think it is irreversible, but it is going too far (the security for the Netanyahu family). There is a difference between the Prime Minister and his family members."