Former Israeli internal intelligence agent Gonen Ben-Yitzhak considered that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “destroying” his country, noting that the Islamic Resistance Movement was smarter than Israel.
Ben Ishaq (53 years old) said – in an interview with Agence France-Presse – that Netanyahu “truly represents the greatest danger to Israel.”
He added, “Believe me, I arrested some of the biggest terrorists during the second intifada (…) and I know what a terrorist looks like,” considering that “Netanyahu is leading Israel toward destruction.”
Today, Gonen Ben-Ishaq participates in the “Crime Minister” movement to protest the policies of the Netanyahu government.
The delay in the United States handing over weapons to its ally, Israel, reinforced Ben-Ishaq’s conviction that Netanyahu must leave power.
He said, “US President Joe Biden is the biggest supporter of Israel (…) and Netanyahu spit in his face,” adding, “He is destroying very important relations with the United States.”
For months, Israelis have been protesting Netanyahu’s management of the war in the Gaza Strip and gathering regularly to demand early elections and the return of detainees held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Ben Yitzhak, who joined the Israeli Internal Security Service in the 1990s after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, became a prominent figure in the anti-Netanyahu demonstrations.
Hamas intelligence
The former Shin Bet agent believes that Israeli intelligence underestimated Hamas, considering that a double agent could have uncovered the plan for the October 7 attack to prevent it from occurring.
He added, “We thought our enemy was stupid…but in the end, Hamas was smarter.”
He believed that the time had come to “change the equation” in Gaza, by putting an end to the war and then mobilizing international support for the Palestinian National Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, to assume the responsibilities of administering the Gaza Strip.
The activist accused the Israeli Prime Minister of wanting to remain in power at any cost, saying that he “only thinks about himself, his criminal problems, and how to remain politically in Israel.”
The former agent criticized Netanyahu for allowing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to use the police as his own “militia” to disrupt weekly anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
He confirmed that he personally stood in front of water cannons to protect demonstrators from police violence, according to what he said, which led to his conviction. However, the conviction was overturned in March.
He went on to say, “Today Israel is destroyed from within. He (Netanyahu) is destroying everything.”
He added, “The more Netanyahu submits to the extremist nationalist allies, the weaker Israel’s security becomes. Everything has become explosive now.”
He stressed, “I tell Netanyahu to resign, and that will be the greatest support you can provide to the people of the State of Israel.”