Speaking from an IDC Institute for Policy and Strategy Conference launching a new book by Amos Gilead and Yediot Ahronot diplomatic-political correspondent Shimon Shiffer, Pardo said: “We have failed to come up with an end game for either Gaza or any of the Palestinian chapter.”
Since he had explained that the security situation has gotten worse, Pardo said he is disturbed by Israel failing to define its goals and acting as if time was on its side.
The former Mossad chief said that all that is left is for random rounds of fighting to break out and that Israel only deals with tactics and “sends the IDF to put out fires with whatever tools it has and limits on its firepower” - but still with no ability to get to an end game and set strategic long-term goals.
Pardo said that part of the blame is on the general public for failing to make a decisive decision over this past year in the repeated elections regarding what government it wants.
Next, Pardo was asked about whether the government and prime minister can undertake daring security moves when it is in the state of being a transitional government.
He responded that “during the era of [Yitzhak] Rabin, [Ariel] Sharon and others, leaders ordered major daring and risky operations even during election season. These operations, if they had failed, could lead to the leaders to having to resign – and yet they took the hard decisions.”
Pardo said he did not see this same readiness with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.