Ehud Barak criticizes Netanyahu's Lebanon war policies, calls Bennett, Eisenkot 'superior' PMs

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy and public messaging regarding the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.

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This government is misleading the public, Netanyahu is just counting bodies. They didn't kill 800 terrorists, nor 400 terrorists - it's all nonsense. While funerals were being held, Netanyahu claimed we were dealing Hezbollah a crushing blow and pushing the terror organization back decades. It's pathetic, an illusion.

In an interview with 103FM, Barak asserted that "this government is misleading the public, Netanyahu is just counting bodies." He dismissed claims of significant military success against Hezbollah, labeling them as "all nonsense" and "an illusion," particularly in contrast to Netanyahu's public pronouncements during funerals.

Barak also challenged the notion that Israel is being unduly constrained by external factors, such as directives from the White House or US President Donald Trump. He argued that Israel cannot unilaterally destroy Hezbollah without occupying Lebanon, an option he deems impractical. Instead, he believes Israel is currently squandering an opportunity and inadvertently strengthening Hezbollah's legitimacy by signaling a prolonged presence in Lebanese villages.

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The Israeli public is being deceived when told that if we were just freed from the constraints of 'this strange Trump,' we could rise up once and for all and destroy Hezbollah. There is no such thing.

Furthermore, Barak described a "very strong axis" of nations, including Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, that are effectively pressuring Trump, a situation he believes has placed Israel in its "gravest diplomatic and security situation in the country's history." He expressed deep concern that ground operations in Lebanon lack practical objectives and suggested that Israel's prolonged presence in Lebanon after 2000, rather than its withdrawal, allowed Hezbollah to grow.

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We are flattening villages and signaling that we intend to stay there permanently. Through this move, we think we are weakening Hezbollah, but the exact opposite is true, because they suddenly gain a major, legitimate role within Lebanon.

Concluding his remarks, Barak endorsed Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot as significantly better potential leaders than Netanyahu. He stressed that "wars always have to end; war is just a means to achieve a diplomatic, political solution," advocating for leaders who understand this principle.

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This government has dragged us into the gravest diplomatic and security situation in the country's history and is gaslighting the public while the IDF is stretched to its absolute limit.