Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen confirmed on Monday that he will not be running for office in Israel's next election.
Cohen's comments came during his address at Shurat HaDin's "Rage Against The Hate" conference against antisemitism in New York.
"The answer is no. Not now. We'll see what happens later," Cohen stated.
"When I was the head of the Mossad, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu hinted that I was his successor. One day, I went to him and asked if he really said that, and he said yes, and explained why," he added.
"This was in 2018 or 2019, I think, and then my wife said, 'No, never. We're not getting into this.' But I think everything changed dramatically after October 7, and there is a need for new leadership. So, it's not entirely impossible. I'm considering everything, but the decision right now is no."
This comes after the former Mossad head frequently expressed his intention to run for office.
In August, Cohen stated that he should become Israel's prime minister, adding that he would bring "any real change" in a podcast interview with Yasmin Lukatz.
He added then that "any real change could only come if [he] became prime minister," saying that when a date for elections is announced, he would consider running.
Two months prior, he hinted at possibly starting a new political party, with reports indicating he had been approached by Netanyahu, likely prime ministerial candidate and former prime minister Naftali Bennett, and Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman.
Cohen: Ceasefire, Hezbollah, and Iran are problems that Israel must face
Cohen also spoke about the ceasefire deal: "This isn’t the ideal agreement, but right now, it’s time for a ceasefire, and this is a price worth paying for the release of the hostages. I don’t think the US or other parties will prevent Israel from fighting terrorism in the future."
Israel must decide whether to sever all ties with Qatar after the return of all the fallen hostages. We don’t have real relations with them; we only used them as intermediaries to transfer funds to Gaza, supposedly for the population, but in reality, they went to Hamas. It was a mistake, intended for humanitarian aid, but it ended up funding terrorism."
According to him, the other problems that Israel should face now are Hezbollah and Iran, saying that it is possible to overturn the Islamic Republic, but "it will take years."
"The Iranian people suffer from the brutal regime; anyone who dares to protest is hanged or shot. But I believe that the time has come, and if the world supports it, it will happen,” he said.