More than 40 seen Israelis - former security guards, famous scientists and leaders of the business world - sent a letter to the president of the country and the speaker of the parliament with the request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office because, according to them, he represents an "existential" threat to Israel, writes CNN .
Among the signatories are ambassadors, four former directors of Israel's counterintelligence and intelligence services, two former chiefs of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and three Nobel laureates.
The letter strongly condemns the ruling coalition that Netanyahu has assembled - the most right-wing since Israel's existence - as well as his highly controversial efforts to reform the judiciary which the signatories say have led to security lapses, culminating in the October 7 attack by Hamas on the Jewish state. .
That attack was the bloodiest in Israel's history.
"We are convinced that Netanyahu is primarily responsible for creating the circumstances that led to the brutal massacre of more than 1.200 Israelis and others, the wounding of more than 4.500 and the kidnapping of more than 230 people, of whom more than 130 are still in Hamas captivity. The blood of the victims on It is in Netanyahu's hands," the letter states.
The letter went to the President of Israel Isaac Herzog, the Speaker of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Amir Ohana.
Netanyahu's popularity has declined dramatically since he became prime minister for the sixth time a little over a year ago. Critics are lashing out at his efforts to reform the judiciary, which threaten a constitutional crisis and divide the country, and have led to months of mass, regular demonstrations.
"The leaders of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas," the letter emphasizes, "openly delight in what they rightly see as the process of destabilization and erosion of Israel's stability led by Netanyahu, so they saw an opportunity to harm the country's security, and harm it."
The latest public opinion poll, conducted by Israel's Channel 13, shows Netanyahu's Likud party would be in a distant second place if the elections were held now, and the winner would be the National Unity Party, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Beni Gantz, currently a member of Netanyahu's war party. cabinet.
The next parliamentary elections in Israel are not expected before the final months of 2026. One of the main opposition leaders, Jair Lapid, is calling for early elections.
"The situations that led Israel to the previous election are almost nothing compared to what Israel is going through now," Haim Tomer, a longtime Mossad official who retired as the agency's intelligence chief, told CNN.
According to this former security guard who signed the letter demanding Netanyahu's removal from the post of prime minister, "it is clear to everyone that Netanyahu is incapable of leading Israel."
The signatories accuse Netanyahu of spending years propping up Hamas in Gaza at the expense of the Palestinian Authority, which the US says should be revitalized to govern both Gaza and the West Bank.
Netanyahu repeatedly said last week that he opposes Palestinian sovereignty for security reasons, although Israel's main ally, Washington, continues to push for a two-state solution to the Palestinian situation.
The letter accuses Netanyahu of refusing to take responsibility for the October 7 attacks, and instead "blaming others and inciting those who fought to save Israel's democracy from his destructive actions and plans, and are now wholeheartedly mobilizing in support Israel's war effort".
In the conclusion of the letter, there is a request to the president of the state and the speaker of the Knesset to remove the prime minister, and a warning is highlighted: "The Israeli nation and Jewish history will not forgive you if you do not fulfill your national responsibility of the highest importance."
Bonus video:
