Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak sharply criticized the government of Benjamin Netanyahu over its conduct of the war in Lebanon, arguing that Israel cannot eliminate Hezbollah through military action alone.
Speaking to Israeli radio station 103FM, Barak said the government was misleading the public about the war’s results and casualty figures.
“The government is deceiving the public, and Netanyahu is counting the bodies.”
Barak rejected official claims regarding the number of Hezbollah fighters killed, saying “not 800 terrorists were killed, nor 400. This is all nonsense”.
He also dismissed statements that Hezbollah had been set back by decades as an “illusion”.
Barak argued that Israelis are being misled by suggestions that Israel could eliminate Hezbollah if political constraints were removed.
“They are deceiving the Israelis when they tell us that if they free us from Trump’s constraints, we will rise up and eliminate Hezbollah. This is not possible” he added.
According to Barak, eliminating Hezbollah would require occupying Lebanon, which he described as unrealistic.
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“We will not be able to eliminate Hezbollah without occupying Lebanon, and this idea is impractical.”
He warned that remaining in Lebanon and destroying villages could strengthen rather than weaken Hezbollah’s standing within Lebanese society. Barak also accused the government of leading Israel into a dangerous strategic situation.
“This government has dragged us into the most dangerous political and security situation in the country’s history and is misleading the public.”
Discussing regional developments, Barak said that alongside Iranian support for Hezbollah, there is a broader regional alignment involving Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar that, in his view, exerts considerable influence on US policy.
Addressing Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, which took place during his premiership, Barak defended the decision and argued that the more important question was why the withdrawal had not occurred earlier.
“The real question about the withdrawal from Lebanon is not why the withdrawal happened in 2000, but why it didn’t happen 15 years earlier.” “Hezbollah developed and expanded because we were inside Lebanon.”
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