Former Mossad chief, Tamir Pardo, has criticised Israeli society and governance in the first major statement he has made since leaving the intelligence agency in January.

In a press conference at a memorial hike for Druze IDF soldiers, Mr Pardo said the "internal threat should worry us more than the external threat. If a divided society passes a certain line, you can reach things like a civil war in the extreme case. The distances, I'm sorry to say, are shortening. I fear we are in that direction."

Although he did not specifically mention his former boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Pardo's statement was seen by many as indirect criticism of Mr Netanyahu. The Prime Minister has focused relentlessly on the external threat of Iran over the past few years, and Mr Pardo specifically said that Israel was not under existential threat from an external enemy. He also criticised those who "emphasise what divides us rather than draws us together".

Mr Pardo is joining a long list of former security chiefs who have spoken out against the government since leaving service. Most prominent was his predecessor at Mossad, Meir Dagan, who passed away earlier this year. During the 2015 elections, Mr Dagan was one of the most outspoken critics of Mr Netanyahu's policies. Former IDF chiefs of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Gantz, as well as former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, have all voiced criticism of the government, while all the living former Shin Bet heads took part in The Gatekeepers, a documentary criticising Israel's longstanding policies towards the Palestinians in the West Bank.