When it comes to ex-us spy for israel calls for gaza ethnic cleansing as he seeks knesset seat, jonathan Pollard, the former US navy intelligence analyst imprisoned for 30 years for spying for Israel, says he'll seek a Knesset seat this year while advocating the forced removal of Gaza's population. His proposed political campaign links demands for annexation with criticism of Israel's leadership over the 7 October 2023 attack.
Understanding Ex-US Spy For Israel Calls For Gaza Ethnic Cleansing As He Seeks Knesset Seat
Speaking to Channel 13 television, Jonathan Pollard said: "I personally prefer the forcible removal of all current residents of Gaza, and the annexation of Gaza and its repopulation by us." The proposal amounts to a platform of ethnic cleansing, pairing mass expulsion with Israeli resettlement. Originally reported by The Guardian.
Pollard said the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities, which killed nearly 1,200 people and triggered the Gaza war, prompted his decision to enter politics. He blamed the Israeli government both for failing to prevent the assault and for not intervening quickly once it began.
"Until then, I thought that the abandonment and betrayal I experienced from the government was an exception and not the rule, but after October 7 I realized that I was not an exception," Jonathan Pollard said.
His remarks connect a personal grievance against Israeli authorities with the failures surrounding the attack. They're also a declaration that his campaign won't be limited to questions of security preparedness: it seeks the removal of Gaza's residents and a change in control of the territory.
Espionage Case Brought Prison, Money and Israeli Citizenship
Pollard was released on parole from a US prison in 2015, aged 61, after serving 30 years for selling military secrets to Israel for money. He and his wife, Anne Henderson, were arrested in 1985 after he passed a huge volume of classified documents to Israeli intelligence.
By Pollard's own calculation, the material could fill a 10ftx6ftx6ft room. He received cash and jewels in return. The scale of that transfer and the payments are central elements of a case that ultimately kept him imprisoned for three decades.
Marion Bowman, a Pentagon lawyer who assessed the damage to US national security, told NBC News in 2014 that Pollard had been motivated by money as much as allegiance to Israel. Bowman also alleged that Pollard supplied highly classified materials to two other countries.
Pollard pleaded guilty in 1986, hoping to avoid a life sentence, but a federal judge rejected the plea agreement in 1987. During his imprisonment, Benjamin Netanyahu championed his cause, and Pollard received Israeli citizenship. That support preceded the public criticism he now directs at the prime minister.
New Party Plans Test Pollard's Break With Netanyahu
The terms of Pollard's parole barred him from leaving the US for five years. After that period ended, he emigrated to Israel in 2020, receiving a hero's welcome from Netanyahu. The reception marked a contrast with his present attacks on the government's conduct.
In the Channel 13 interview, Pollard said Israel wasn't winning the war it had been fighting since 2023. He called for new leadership with a clearer and sharper policy, putting the prime minister who once supported him squarely in his political sights.
According to Channel 13, Pollard will enter politics through a new party formed with Nissim Louk. Louk's 22-year-old daughter, Shani, was murdered in the 7 October attack while attending a music festival near the Gaza border.
The partnership places another family directly affected by the attack alongside Pollard's campaign. But his criticism of Netanyahu doesn't amount to an unconditional refusal to support him. Pollard left open the possibility of backing the prime minister after the election, despite blaming government failures for Israel's vulnerability.
Elections are expected in October this year. If Netanyahu emerges still commanding a governing coalition, Jonathan Pollard said, "then we will have to support him". That position leaves a tension at the heart of Pollard's bid: he's calling for different leadership and Gaza's forced depopulation while remaining prepared to support the incumbent.
Originally reported by The Guardian. View original.