Members of Commander's for Israel's Security held a press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and called on Israelis to replace current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his "failures in defense." "Netanyahu, you are guilty of failing the [Iranian] nuclear issue and failure against Hamas in Gaza," Former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit said. "You turned the U.S. from an ally to a foe. You must provide answers for why you released 1,200 terrorists, and why after decades in the Mossad you and your people made me out to be a traitor, is it because I am promoting a different way-" "There are no retakes in security," former deputy director of the Shin Bet Aryeh Felman said. "We must dare to ask the difficult question and ignore the bullshit." Brig. Gen. (res.) Giora Inbar also criticized Netanyahu. "Speeches without action do not bring security, Mr. Netanyahu. If you cannot deliver security then let others do it. The public is not satisfied with just talk on defense and does not believe Netanyahu can deliver. You failed in the most basic thing you promised: security for Israeli citizens," he said. Netanyahu issued a retort to the claims. "Twenty years ago, hundreds of former officers expressed their support for the Oslo Accords, and my colleagues and I warned against it. Then they supported the Gaza disengagement. ... I think as time passes it will be clear who was right and who was wrong," Netanyahu said. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon also responded to the statements. "History is full of mistakes, mine as well. As a major general, before I got to know the Oslo Accord, I thought it could be the right thing. But when I was appointed head of military intelligence, at the height of the Oslo talks, and it became clear to me what that deal really was, I got wise," he said. Officials from the Almagor Terror Victims Association noted on Wednesday that while they fought against terrorist prisoner release deals for Gilad Schalit, many defense officials belonging to Commanders for Israel's Security, who are now speaking out against Netanyahu, had supported the releases. Brig. Gen. (res.) Giora Inbar wrote in 2011 on Ynet that Netanyahu deserves full credit for the Gilad Schalit deal. "So Giora, is he [Netanyahu] praiseworthy or not-" one Almagor member said.
