Her former agent Israeli Internal Security Servicewho then became a figurehead of the movement challenging his government Benjamin NetanyahuThe Gonen ben Yitzchak he estimates in his interview with Agence France-Presse that the prime minister is “destroying” the country.

In his old life, he was a spy for the Shin Bet, the powerful Israeli intelligence agency. Now, Gonen ben Yitzhak denounces the policy of the Israeli prime minister.

“Netanyahu truly represents the greatest danger to Israel and, believe me, I have arrested some of the greatest terrorists during the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising),” says 53-year-old Ben Yitzhak as he welcomes AFP to his residence in Montin .

“I know what a terrorist is. I believe Netanyahu is leading Israel to destruction,” insists the man who previously worked with one of the sons of a Hamas founder turned Shin Bet informant to prevent attacks in the occupied West Bank.

He was also involved in the arrest of Marwan Barghouti, a former senior official of the Palestinian Fatah party who was sentenced to life in prison for murder and is considered one of the most popular political figures in the Palestinian Territories.

Today Gonen Ben Yitzhak is demonstrating against Netanyahu’s sixth term.

The delay in the delivery of weapons to Israel by the United States, the country’s historic ally, is one of the reasons that have strengthened his view that the prime minister should leave power.

“American President Joe Biden is the biggest supporter of Israel and Netanyahu spat in his face,” he says bluntly. “It is destroying very important relations with the United States,” the former military man accuses.

For months, Benjamin Netanyahu has been the target of protesters for his war on Gaza, and dozens of people regularly gather to demand early elections and the return of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

Gonen Ben Yitzhak, who joined the Internal Security Service in the 1990s after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, has become a prominent figure in the anti-Netanyahu protests. He spearheaded anti-corruption marches against the prime minister, who has been indicted in various cases.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied corruption charges and yesterday on Monday reiterated his determination to destroy Hamas, the Islamist movement that launched a bloody attack on Israel on October 7, sparking the Gaza war.

“We will not end the war (in Gaza) until we have destroyed Hamas and brought the residents of the south and the north back to their homes in complete safety,” Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament.

For the former Shin Bet operative, Israeli security underestimated Hamas and a whistleblower could have tipped off its attack that killed 1,194 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli data.

“You need a whistleblower, like in the old days, to call you and tell you that ‘something is wrong.’ And it seems we didn’t have him. We thought our enemy was a fool. And, in the final analysis, Hamas was more intelligent,” explains Ben Yitzhak.

It is time to “change the equation” in Gaza, he said, starting with ending the war and gathering international support to put Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank at the helm .

The activist accuses Netanyahu of wanting to stay in power at all costs.

“He only thinks about himself, his criminal problems and how he will survive politically in Israel.”

The former agent also accuses the Israeli leader of letting nationalist Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir use the police as his own “militia” to disrupt weekly anti-government protests in Tel Aviv.

He had himself stood between a water cannon and protesters to protect them, which cost him a conviction, which was eventually overturned last month.

“Today Israel is being destroyed from within. He (Netanyahu) is destroying everything,” says Ben Yitzhak.

“The more Netanyahu bows to the death-dealing allies, the more Israel’s security weakens. Everything now is explosive”, he estimates.

If Gonen ben Yitzhak had the prime minister in front of him, he would have told him to “resign. This is the greatest help you could offer to the people of the State of Israel.”