Israeli group calls for referendum on Palestinian territories' future

A group of Israeli officials urged the government to hold a national referendum on the future of the Palestinian territories on Monday.

Former Israeli politicians, security officials, artists and social activists were among those that launched the 'Decision at 50' campaign ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, in which Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.

The group, which is led by prominent figures in Israel’s so-called peace camp, believes an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian lands is essential for the country’s survival.

“Every day in which our control over the Palestinian territories persists brings us closer to the end of Israel as the democratic state of the Jewish people,” Ami Ayalon, the group's founder and former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency said.

The group said it sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asking to hold the referendum, despite stating that the Israeli prime minister “sees the disaster ahead, but he is not courageous enough to act.”

Netanyahu himself has -- reluctantly -- endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state over the years, however peace efforts have remained stagnant throughout most of his seven-year tenure amid.

The group believes the establishment of a Palestinian state will ensure Israel’s future as a democracy with a solid Jewish majority.

The alternative, they say, is a “binational” state in which Israel either risks losing its Jewish majority or ruling over millions of disenfranchised Palestinians in an apartheid-style situation.

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment, according to AP.

Since Israel's forcible occupation in 1948, Palestinians have sought to establish an independent state.

Two decades of peace efforts have repeatedly failed with Israel as it continued to wage war on Palestinians, most notably the 2014 Gaza war in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed, mostly civilians.