But senior cabinet colleague says Economy Minister Eli Cohen doesn’t know what he’s talking about; Cohen also claims 11 died in recent Israeli strikes in Syria when F-16 downed
By TOI STAFF
In a stunning claim that would suggest far-reaching worldwide reliance on Israel’s intelligence agencies, Economy Minister Eli Cohen (Kulanu) on Sunday said that Israel warned 30 countries worldwide about specific terror plots in the course of 2017.
“You all heard last week that Australia got a phone call from the state of Israel [with a specific warning that terrorists] intend to blow up a plane. Actually, 30 countries got phone calls from Israel in 2017, in which the State of Israel called them, and said to them: You need to know, this and that [are being planned], in this and that place, pay attention, there’s going to be an attack,” he said, in a recording (Hebrew) of his speech aired by Army Radio on Monday morning.
Cohen made the remarks at a law conference at Tel Aviv University in the wake of reports that Israeli military intelligence foiled an Islamic State attempt to bomb flight from Australia last year. The event was well-attended and open to the public, the radio report noted.
Cohen’s claim, however, was immediately refuted by Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who is a member of the high-level security cabinet.
In a subsequent interview on Army Radio, Elkin questioned Cohen’s credibility on security matters, saying he wasn’t aware of the figures the economy minister cited in his remarks to the conference a day earlier.
“He’s not a member of the security cabinet so he isn’t privy to all the information given by security and intelligence officials,” Elkin said of Cohen. “I’m not sure where he got those figures from.”
CONINUE
Why risk precious intelligence resources on countries that will vote against Israel in the UN? I did not see 30 countries vote for Israel in the Security Council or General Assembly.
Israel should save special favors of friendship for those that reciprocate.
Let those who do not attribute Jerusalem and Judea to the Jewish people, put up with the Islamic menace on their own.
However hard Israel tries to please and appease, some countries will never give it the respect its politicians crave for.
Same goes for treating thousands of enemy Arabs for free while Israeli patients languish in hospital corridors and must be fed by their families or go hungry. It does not do any good.