More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, renowned scientists, and prominent business leaders sent a letter to the Israeli president and the speaker of the parliament demanding the dismissal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his position because he poses what they call an "existential" threat to Israel.

According to the American news channel "cnn", among the signatories of the letter are four former directors of Israeli foreign and domestic security agencies, two former Israeli army chiefs, and three Nobel laureates.

The letter criticizes the coalition formed by Netanyahu to create the most right-wing government ever in Israel, along with his controversial efforts to reform the Israeli judiciary, which they say led to security gaps that resulted in the October 7 attacks, the deadliest day in Israel's history. 

The letter stated, “We believe that Netanyahu bears primary responsibility for creating the conditions that led to the brutal massacre that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis and others, injured more than 4,500 others, and the abduction of more than 230 individuals, more than 130 of whom are still held by Hamas. The blood of these victims stains Netanyahu’s hands.”

The letter was sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday and to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Friday.

Netanyahu's popularity has dropped significantly since he began his sixth term as prime minister, just over a year ago, and criticism has been directed at his judicial reform efforts — which threatened to spark a constitutional crisis and divide the country, with months of massive regular protests.

The letter added: Iran’s leaders, Hezbollah, and Hamas have openly praised what they rightly consider a destabilizing operation and erosion of Israel’s stability, led by Netanyahu, and they seized the opportunity to harm Israel’s security.

Among the 43 signatories are former Israeli army chiefs Moshe Ya'alon and Dan Halutz, Tamir Pardo and Danny Yatom, who led the Mossad intelligence agency, and Nadav Argaman and Yaakov Peri, who were directors of the domestic security service, Shin Bet.

Also signing the letter were former executives, ambassadors, government officials, and three Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry — Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, and Dan Shechtman.

A poll published this week by Israel's Channel 13 indicates that Netanyahu’s political party, Likud, would now come in second by a wide margin if elections were held today. The leading candidate in the poll was the National Unity party, led by former Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who is currently a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet.

The next elections are not scheduled until late 2026, despite protests and calls for early elections, including from one of Israel’s main opposition leaders, Yair Lapid.

Chaim Tomer, a longtime Mossad officer who retired after heading the agency’s intelligence division and who signed the letter demanding Netanyahu’s dismissal, said: “The positions that brought Israel to the elections previously are hardly anything compared to what Israel is going through now.”

Tomer told CNN: “Everyone knows that Netanyahu is incompetent to lead Israel.”

Last week, Netanyahu repeatedly expressed his opposition to Palestinian sovereignty for security reasons, as the United States, Israel’s main ally, continues to call for a two-state solution.

The signatories accuse Netanyahu of spending years supporting Hamas in Gaza at the expense of the Palestinian Authority, which the United States says should be activated to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

CNN reported that Qatar has for years delivered bags full of cash to Gaza with Netanyahu’s approval, despite his government’s concerns. This money was designated to pay civil service employees' salaries and retirees’ benefits. It is now delivered via bank transfers, not cash, and last month Qatar said it continues to pay.

To form his current government, Netanyahu gathered other right-wing parties within Likud and assembled the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. The Biden administration has criticized two of its prominent members, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, for their calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza.

The letter accuses Netanyahu of refusing to take responsibility for the October 7 attacks, instead "blaming others and inciting against those who fought to save Israeli democracy from his destructive actions and plans, and who are now sincerely rallying to support Israel's national war efforts."

The letter concludes with an appeal to the Israeli president and Knesset speaker to replace the prime minister, along with a warning: “The Israeli nation and Jewish history will not forgive you if you do not fulfill your utmost national responsibility.”

Neither the president nor the Knesset speaker has the authority to dismiss the prime minister unilaterally, but the letter was also to be distributed by the Knesset speaker to Knesset members who can dismiss and replace the prime minister.

Former Mossad official Tomer said the right people need to “put their hands on the steering wheel.”

He continued, “I think people have started looking at Israel from the outside and asking themselves what happened to this country.” “What happened to this country that has such very smart people but is now led by some fools?”

The word we used in the circles I participated in is: we need a reboot.”

Israel has faced intense international criticism over its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly two million people since the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Israel has repeatedly insisted that its war is not against the Palestinian people, but against Hamas fighters who hold more than 130 hostages in deplorable conditions in the war zone.

Netanyahu said at a press conference last week that the politicians calling for his removal are basically demanding a Palestinian state.

Israel’s actions in Gaza are the subject of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, filed by South Africa, accusing the country’s leadership of intending to "destroy its Palestinian population."

Israel denies these accusations, arguing that the war is fought in self-defense and that its leadership has not shown intent for genocide.