Ex-Mossad chief ‘disappointed’ over alleged threats against ICC prosecutor

Tamir Pardo says alleged campaign under his successor sounds like Cosa Nostra-style blackmail'

• Revealed: Israeli spy chief threatened' ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry
• Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel's nine-year war' on the ICC exposed

A former head of the Mossad has described his disbelief and disappointment at allegations that his successor at the Israeli intelligence agency threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC), likening the conduct to mafia-like tactics.

Tamir Pardo, who served as director of the Mossad between 2011 and 2016, was responding to a Guardian investigation published this week about an alleged operation by the Israeli spy service to put pressure on the former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to abandon a war crimes investigation.