© REUTERSMossad chief Tamir Pardo.
In his first public appearance since leaving office in June of this year, former Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo said the most pressing threat to Israel is not Iran, but rather it is the increased polarization within Israeli society.
"There is no outside existential threat to Israel, the only real existential threat is the internal division," Pardo said.
Speaking at the annual race to commemorate fallen Druse soldiers in the North, Pardo added that "internal division can lead us to civil war - we are already on a path towards that."
"If a society crosses a certain line in its division and hatred, then it is a real possibility to see a phenomenon like a civil war."
He said that society at large bears responsibility to prevent these divisions, not only the leadership.
Pardo also addressed the Palestinian issue, saying that without a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "we will never be able to achieve normalization with our Arab neighbors."
The comments on the Palestinian issue came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly hailed improved diplomatic relations with Israel's moderate Arab neighbors.
I think there are external threats to Israel and there will continue to be more as they walk down the path of apartheid towards genocide. Iran first comes to mind and Hezbollah and knowledgeable people from all the middle eastern countries currently being torn apart by war and knowledgeable people from around the world who witness the crimes against Palestine know that Israel is at the heart of the violence. Then there is the boycott, divest and sanction movement which threatens Israels industry and public image.
It is wishful thinking to believe that Israel will implode rather than being overrun by Iran, but we can all have dreams.