Israel imposing apartheid on Palestinians, says former Mossad chief

Tamir Pardo comments, slammed by ruling Likud party, carry weight because of high regard for intelligence agency in Israel

A former head of the Mossad intelligence agency has said Israel is imposing a form of apartheid on the Palestinians, joining a growing number of prominent Israelis to compare the occupation of the West Bank to South Africa's defunct system of racial oppression.

But Tamir Pardo's views will have added impact because of the high regard for Mossad in Israel and because they come at a time when far-right members of Israel's government are moving to kill off any prospect of an independent Palestinian state.