On the face of it, the warning by four former heads of Israeli domestic intelligence, Shin Bet, that Sharon’s policies toward the Palestinians are counterproductive should be discounted. The tactic of highly public expressions of moderation from within the Israeli establishment has frequently been used to fool international opinion, while the Israeli government carries on with its policies in the occupied territories. But this latest protest may be different.

For a start, the former intelligence chiefs know all about the behavior of their colleagues toward the Palestinians. They understand the mind games that the Israelis play with their victims, blotting out hopes of peace by piling on more humiliation, providing more provocation to the men of violence. Their inevitable reaction then gives them grounds to abandon that sham moderation to ratchet up the violence. It is a tedious cycle.

What appears to make their intervention different this time is that they have referred to the despair felt by ordinary Israelis as well as Palestinians at the continuing intifada. This could be significant. According to the vox pops shown on TV, the anti-Arab prejudice has deepened and Sharon’s hard-line policies are popular. Yet the intelligence chiefs think they know better. Probably having a wider view than ordinary Israelis, the Shin Bet men reckon that their government is on the wrong track. By saying that Sharon’s aggressive policies are fueling the very violence that they are designed to end, they are stating what has been obvious all along to moderate opinion in the Arab world and beyond.

Unfortunately, Israeli government sources have briefed against the intelligence chiefs, saying their statement will only encourage Palestinian hard-liners to redouble their attacks. Even if there is any truth in this accusation, it is hard to see what will stop the intifada short of a real settlement.

Given the Zionist credentials of the Sharon regime, peace is the last thing that it wants. Israel without conflict will no longer be able to call upon American generosity to survive. The Zionist dream is of the day when Israel can expel the Palestinians from their remaining lands and send in the settlers. Sharon has no interest in a settlement. The intervention of the Shin Bet men is therefore hugely inconvenient, carrying as it does such a high level of authority. Sharon will not be happy that such senior establishment figures are no longer dancing to the official tune.

What seems to have been overlooked is that the main effect of this criticism may well be on the American intelligence community. It appears the Bush White House and the Zionist sympathizers within the US administration earlier rejected CIA analyses to the effect that success is impossible for the Israeli policy of repression. Now however, following the intervention of their Israeli colleagues, such CIA assessments will be altogether harder to ignore.