A PROMINENT Israeli ex-intelligence chief has sought to sway Israelis against Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections, saying that the prime minister has mismanaged Israel's response to Iran's nuclear program and missed opportunities to make inroads on a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
The interview by Yuval Diskin was an unusually strong and overt assault on a prime minister by a figure formerly from the security establishment, coming less than three weeks before the January 22 election, in which polls predict Mr Netanyahu will be re-elected.
The election campaign has hardly touched on security issues like the conflict with Iran or the stalled peace process with the Palestinians, focusing almost entirely on domestic issues.
Mr Diskin, who ran Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency from 2005 to 2011, has been a vocal critic of Mr Netanyahu.
But his front-page interview to the daily Yediot Ahronot included his sharpest comments yet.
He accused Mr Netanyahu of acting illegally by ordering the security apparatus to prepare for an attack on Iran before gaining former approval by the Cabinet of ministers.
He also said Mr Netanyahu squandered the gains made by Israel's security forces by not using a period of relative quiet over the past few years to move toward peace with the Palestinians.
"I am convinced we deserve a better leadership that's braver and more moral, and that sets a better personal example," Mr Diskin said.
"If I cause the Israeli voter to think twice before choosing parties and leaders that are not worthy, because they are actually not leading us where we should be going, I've done my part."
He said he formed his opinion "based on dozens of discussions with many people more or less of my rank" who feel "a lack of security, lack of trust and lack of appreciation" for the current administration.
Mr Netanyahu's office in a text-messaged statement called Mr Diskin's comments "baseless" and accused him of personal frustration over not being selected to head the prestigious Mossad spy agency.
Though Mr Diskin oversaw Israel's domestic security in his role as Shin Bet chief, he was also involved in key security decisions affecting the country including deliberations over a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Mr Diskin said that in 2010 Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak tried to convince him, the army chief and the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency to prepare the security apparatus for an attack on Iran before gaining approval from the necessary government forums, a move Mr Diskin called "illegal".
The army chief and Mossad chief from the time - Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi and Meir Dagan - both spoke similarly about the meeting to Israeli television in November.
Mr Diskin also described attending a meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Barak and then-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which they discussed the Iranian nuclear threat over cigars and liquor.
He called the atmosphere "bizarre," saying leaders discussing such a serious subject with Israeli security officials should show more gravity.
Mr Diskin said Mr Netanyahu acted irresponsibly regarding Iran's nuclear program and accused him of prioritising personal concerns over national interests.
On the Palestinian issue, Mr Diskin criticised Mr Netanyahu's lack of movement on peace talks and said there is a chance another Palestinian uprising could break out.
"The role of the security forces is to create conditions so the political echelon will know what to do with them, and the quiet which was achieved in the last few years is an opportunity that the political echelon should not have missed," Mr Diskin said.
Asked about the response by Mr Netanyahu's office to his comments, Mr Diskin replied only "Have a good Sabbath" in a text message to reporters.
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