Mossad chief Yossi Cohen speaks at a Cyber Week at Tel Aviv University on June 24, 2019. Photo: Flash90.

Yossi Cohen, the outgoing head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency the Mossad, said Monday that the use of Qatari money to prop up the Gaza Strip “got a little out of control.”

Israeli news site Walla reported that during a speech at Bar-Ilan University, Cohen spoke about Israel’s 11-day military conflict with the Strip’s ruling terror group Hamas last month, saying, “Until Operation Guardian of the Walls, we hoped that the Qatari involvement and Qatari money would bring us to an arrangement with Hamas, but it got a little out of control.”

He had previously been one of the strongest advocates of allowing Qatari aid into Gaza, and even advocated for expanding the relationship with Qatar.

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani pledged after the conflict that the Gulf state would provide $500 million to help rebuild the Strip.

Cohen also addressed the Iran issue on Monday, saying that if the US leaves Iraq, Iran will swiftly take over the country almost completely as part of its regional “vision.”

Israel, he said, has made this assessment clear to both the Trump administration and the current Biden administration.

Cohen recommended the US and its allies take a tougher line in negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue.

In a digression from the regional situation, Cohen expressed negative views of the US attitude toward China, saying, “I do not understand what the Americans want from China. If anyone understands it, he should explain it to me.”

“China is not opposed to us and is not our enemy,” he added.