In an interview with BFMTV, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak strongly denounces Benjamin Netanyahu’s choices in Gaza and Lebanon, while legitimizing the fight against Hamas and Hezbollah.
A voice that carries in Israel. While the Jewish state is engaged in a double war against Hamas and Hezbollah, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak strongly criticized the choices of Benjamin Netanyahu in a videoconference interview on BFMTV.
In business between 1999 and 2001, known for having ordered the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000, Ehud Barak judges that it is “easy to start” a war but “not easy to end it”.
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“Are we going to conquer Beirut or be present militarily in Lebanon? The answer is no. At some point, probably in a few weeks or months, we will have to move on to diplomatic time,” he estimates.
Netanyahu “responsible” for fate of hostages
The former Prime Minister harshly judges Benjamin Netanyahu’s military strategy in the Gaza Strip. “He rejects any international agreement. He is responsible for the hostages who do not return alive,” he accuses.
According to him, “what concerns Netanyahu is not whether tens of thousands of children will be killed in Gaza. What worries him is that Hamas could be replaced by someone which would be legitimate in the eyes of the international community, the Arab countries and the Palestinians.
If he does not call into question the fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, Ehud Barak, also former Minister of Defense, calls on Israel to act collectively with its allies.
“What we need is to make the decision to fight jointly with the American president rather than with racist and supremacist members of Netanyahu’s cabinet,” he demands, recalling the government alliance between Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and ultra-religious and far-right parties.
Netanyahu ‘prolongs the war’
“We must deploy a regional alliance with the Egyptians, Jordanians, Iraqis, why through the Saudis,” he explains. “An alliance of moderate forces led by the United States and endorsed by the European Union against rogue countries led by Tehran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis of Yemen.”
Ehud Barak also strongly attacked the Israeli Prime Minister, saying that he is taking advantage of the war to stay in power.
“We should have had elections a long time ago. It’s not easy to hold elections (during war) and Netanyahu understands that well.
“He doesn’t want elections so he is deliberately prolonging the war. That’s what many Israelis and observers think,” he assures.
