Jerusalem: Israel premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday picked the next director of spy agency Mossad, identified only as ‘D’, to replace Yossi Cohen.
Netanyahu appointed “Deputy Mossad director ‘D’ as next Mossad Director. ‘D’ is an accomplished Mossad veteran”, a statement from the premier’s office said.
Israel does not disclose names of top Mossad personnel, except the director, whose identity is known to public.
Cohen, who has had a more prominent public profile than his predecessors, was appointed to the top post in 2015. He was Netanyahu’s national security advisor and previously deputy chief at Mossad .
The current spy chief is said to have travelled extensively in the Arabian gulf, notably to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the kingdom of Bahrain, amid US-brokered deals to normalize Israeli-Gulf relations.
He is reported to have joined Netanyahu on a tour of Saudi Arabia last month for talks with the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Riyadh denied the meeting ever took place.
The Mossad has been widely linked to the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November.
Tehran has accused Israel of masterminding Fakhrizadeh’s killing but Tel Aviv has not commented on the issue.
Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post reported that, if approved by a special committee responsible for top civil service appointments, the Mossad changeover will happen in June.