More than 100 high-ranking Israeli security officials have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restart the peace process with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, in pursuit of a viable, two-state solution.
The signatories, including two former heads of the intelligence agency Mossad and three retired police chiefs, urged Netanyahu to also reach agreements with other nations in the Middle East.
The letter will be published in Israeli newspapers over the next week.
Netanyahu broke off discussions with the Palestinian Authority in late April, after it joined the Gazan leadership of Hamas in a “unity” Government.
Amnon Reshef, a retired Major-General and former Commander of the Armored Corps, said he started the initiative following Israel’s 50-day war with Gaza this summer:
I hoped that after the operation, the prime minister would begin some sort of political process. That did not happen, I saw no positive reaction.
What I did see, however, was [Israeli Jews] settling in the [largely-Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of] Silwan, all kinds of delusional thoughts on building in the West Bank, authorization of illegal settlements, and the building of infrastructure.
That deeply upset me.
Retired Major-General Gabi Offir, who led the Home Front Command, added, “The Palestinians are still here, the PA is still here…but we cannot keep the corpse that is the Palestinian Authority in its current state.”
