Over 200 former Israeli police officials sign 1st petition to call for end to Gaza war

JERUSALEM / ANKARA

Over 200 former Israeli police officials signed their first petition demanding a prisoner swap with Palestinians, in the latest wave of calls for an end to Israel’s destructive war on the Gaza Strip, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

Eight former police chiefs were among the signatories, including former Tel Aviv District Police Chief Ami Eshed, who was ousted in 2023 by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Haaretz newspaper reported.

They called for the immediate return of Israeli hostages in Gaza through a negotiated deal and an end to the war in Gaza.

Signatories said that the current war in Gaza is being driven by personal and political motives rather than national security.

Twenty-eight petitions have so far been signed by military personnel, former police members, and civilian professionals, according to data collected by Anadolu, bringing the total number of signatories to nearly 29,000.

Facing mounting pressure to end the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the petitioners of attempting to topple his government.

“These letters were written not in the name of our heroic soldiers. They were written by a small handful of fringe elements,” he said in a statement.

The petitions follow the collapse of the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal that came into effect on Jan. 19, mediated by Qatar and Egypt with US support. The Palestinian resistance group Hamas adhered to the terms, but Netanyahu, facing pressure from his far-right coalition, refused to proceed to phase two, resuming military operations on March 18.

At least 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.