Israel: former security chief says ‘no end to occupation’ means ‘no democracy’

A former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has said that, “If we shall not end the occupation, we shall not have security,” before adding, “and if we shall not end this occupation, we shall not have democracy.” Ami Ayalon made his comment during an “extraordinarily candid interview” with Christiane Amanpour on CNN.

“In an extraordinarily candid interview, Israel’s former internal security chief condemns what he calls Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ‘toxic leadership,’ and argues that as the war continues, ‘we are losing our identity as people, as Jews, and as human beings,’” wrote Amanpour on X.

This is not the first time that Ayalon has been so frank in public. In an interview at the beginning of the year with Haaretz, he presented a reading of the results to date of the war on the Gaza Strip and reviewed the scenarios for an exit strategy from his point of view.

He told Yossi Melman, an Israeli journalist specialising in security and intelligence affairs, that, “If anyone thinks that the Palestinians will surrender even if [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar returns to his maker, they don’t know the Palestinians, or Hamas, or radical Islamic movements of the current century.” He added that Israel will not emerge with a “picture of victory” from this war, even if it manages to assassinate Sinwar.

Ayalon called for the release of all Israeli detainees in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, who he believes is the only person who can lead the Palestinians in the post-war stage.

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