New Delhi: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has called for the immediate removal of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister as his “government is causing grave harm to Israel’s strategic standing” and leading the Israel-Hamas war with “no end point”. In an opinion article in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Barak Tuesday criticised Netanyahu over issues ranging from his inability to “synchronise Israel’s operational and political clocks” to his refusal to form “a clear position on the day after”.
“This is causing enormous damage. Netanyahu’s premiership must be terminated before the consequences of his flaws become irreversible,” Barak wrote. A former army general and leader of the Labor Party, Barak served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001, and later served as a minister under Netanyahu. After leaving Labor in 2011, he has floated his own outfits and contested elections, but is currently not a member of the Knesset.
Netanyahu has already been facing a massive decline in public opinion over the past year, from the protests against his judicial reforms to his failure to prevent Hamas’s 7 October attacks. A poll by the The Times of Israel earlier this month revealed that the Netanyahu-led coalition would only be able to secure 45 seats in the 120-member Knesset today as compared to the 65 seats it won last year.
With the Israel-Hamas conflict raging on for the past two months, roughly 14,800 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have been killed so far. Last week, Qatar and Egypt brokered a four-day truce between the two sides, which has since been extended. While Hamas has released 60 Israelis and 21 other hostages — 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli — during the truce, Israel has released 180 Palestinians from its prisons.
On the release of hostages, Barak wrote, “Releasing the hostages is not more important than crushing Hamas, but it is more urgent and thus should be given utmost priority.”
Arguing that five of Netanyahu’s pre-war promises had failed, Barak wrote,“…as is the case among the majority of the Israeli public, in Washington and in regional capitals, nobody believes a word Netanyahu says – certainly not promises given behind closed doors about Israel’s future positions…”
These failed proposals, he said, included Netanyahu’s views of Hamas ‘as an asset’ while dismissing the Palestinian Authority, ‘peace with Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, while ignoring the Palestinians’, and his pride in being Israel’s ‘Mr. Security’.
Barak added:“Anyone who knows Netanyahu and observes him today must surely have serious doubts about his fitness to lead such a complex campaign. His supporters too should take a moment to think: Is he really up to the task?”
Lack of ‘day after’ plan
One of the major criticisms of Netanyahu’s strategy in Israel’s conflict with Hamas has been the lack of clarity on the “day after’, a strategy or vision for the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The former Israeli PM argued that “victory cannot be achieved without a clear position on the day after and a plan to implement that vision”.
Highlighting the need for Israel to work with essential countries in the Middle East such as the US, Egypt, Jordan, the Abraham Accords signatories, and Saudi Arabia among others, to dismantle Hamas, Barak observed, “…the day after requires that already in the immediate term, we must coordinate and build relations of trust, behind the scenes as well, with the US and with our neighbors.”
He added, “The United States, Egypt, Jordan, the Abraham Accords countries, Saudi Arabia: These are the crucial factors. It is only by working successfully with them that Israel can receive legitimacy from the powers and regionally, to complete the dismantling of Hamas.”
He also accused Netanyahu of being stuck in “an unholy alliance with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich”, who he characterised as “pyromaniacs” using the Israeli leader to peddle their conservative ideology.
Barak instead called for “a broad national unity government without Netanyahu, and without Smotrich and Ben-Gvir”, which can lead Israel “responsibly and decisively, free of extraneous and distorted considerations” to victory in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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