The former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has delivered an extraordinary assault on the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying his policies left him fearing for the future of the state.
Meir Dagan accused Netanyahu of being more dangerous than Iran in a speech at a rally in advance of next week’s general election, which has seen the combative leader fighting for his political life, The Telegraph reported on Monday.
“Israel is a country surrounded by enemies, but the enemies do not scare me,” he said. “I am scared of our leadership, by the absence of vision and the loss of a path, the loss of determination. By the hesitance and the impasse.
“And above all, I am scared by the crisis of leadership, which is the worst there has ever been until today.”
Addressing crowds of over 35,000 people in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, Dagan lambasted Netanyahu’s political decision-making as the demonstrators chanted “Bibi - go home!” and punched a giant red balloon imprinted with the prime minister’s face through the crowds.