Occupied Jerusalem: The former head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency on Tuesday said the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is crucial to region-wide peace in the Middle East, joining the ranks of retired security men to urge the government to seek a two-state solution.
The comments by Tamir Pardo were his first foray into political issues since stepping down as Mossad chief early this year.
Peace efforts with the Palestinians have been stalled for more than two years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has preferred the status quo, stalling talks while expediting colony expansion.
“In my opinion, we won’t be able to reach any agreement with any country beyond what we have now if we don’t solve the Palestinian issue,” he said.
Officially, Netanyahu says he endorses the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but he has given few details on where the Palestinian state would be formed.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of sabotaging peace hopes by expanding colonies in the West Bank and occupied east Jerusalem - captured territories where they hope to establish their state. Netanyahu has demanded the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
Dozens of former Israeli commanders have urged Netanyahu to push harder to resolve the Palestinian issue, saying the continued occupation of millions of Palestinians is dangerous to Israel.
Many have accused him of mishandling the matter, though Pardo’s vague comments stopped short of doing so.
In other remarks, Pardo warned of growing polarisation in Israeli society, saying such divisions could lead to “civil war.” However, he did not assign blame to any single leader or political party, or elaborate on the type of divisions he was referring to.
