Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faced a wave of criticism from the security establishment Wednesday, during a special press conference from the Commanders for the Security of Israel group.
The conference was attended by Shabtai Shavit, a former Mossad chief; Major General (retired) Amnon Reshef, former leader of the IDF Armored Corps; Gen. (res) Giora Inbar, a former commander of the IDF in Lebanon; Brigadier General (retired) Asher Levy, former head of the Southern Command; and Aryeh Felman, Acting former Shin Bet chief.
"Netanyahu, you are at head of the pyramid and you can throw the blame on others," Shavit stated, referring to the previous government. "Others are not guilty of failure with Hamas, on the Iranian nuclear issue; no one else has turned the US from an ally to the Soviet enemies [reference to the Cold War - ed.]."
"We ask you: where has your sense of responsibility gone?" he continued. "It's time you answer the tough questions or you won't win the elections. Why did you release 1,200 terrorists after years of preaching against it? Residents in the Gaza Belt are afraid to return home - where is the security you personally promised them?"
"Mr. Netanyahu, speeches without deeds do not bring security," said Brigadier General (retired) Giora Inbar, a former commander of Sayeret Golani and Givati Brigade. "If you stumbled in the basic task of providing real security against Hamas and Iran, at least you should have the honesty to admit it."
"The public does not believe that Netanyahu brought or will bring security, so why are we voting for you if you stumbled on the most basic of all?"
Recent elections polls indicate that Likud, headed by Netanyahu, is falling behind Labor by a three-seat margin; however, the public still overwhelmingly approve Netanyahu over rival Yitzhak Herzog as prime minister.