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If Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu calls early elections, Ehud Barak, a thorn in the coalition’s official backing of Judea and Samaria, could be left out in the cold. The trigger for possible elections later this year is the movement for changing the military draft system, whose critics have targeted exemptions or shorter terms of service for young men studying Torah. The Prime Minister said Sunday he backs military service for all Jews and civilian service of Arabs, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with leaders of the “suckers’ rally” that has staged a week-long demonstration opposite his office. Protest leaders said...

Jews forced out of the Machpelah House in Hevron last week spent Passover in tents just meters away. In the meantime, the building sits empty. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, with support from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, insisted on going ahead with last week’s eviction ahead of Passover, arguing that Jewish presence in the building was an operational threat that must be rectified immediately. The IDF, he said, could verify that Jews had a legal right to the home after forcing them to leave it. The eviction caused discord in the government, with senior figures including Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and...

The IDF Civil Administration on Thursday took the unprecedented step of rejecting a government plan to normalize the status of the Sansana community in the South Hebron Hills. In Israel, as in other democracies, military officials are beholden to policy decisions made by civilian officials and are expected to implement their directives in good faith. The Civil Administration decision that "there is no justification for a new settlement, as [new homes] can be constructed within an existing settlement" comes 12 years after Sansana was established. In 1997 a Nahal outpost was established at Sansana, but the first homes were not...

Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on the international community Saturday to tighten sanctions even further on Iran, warning it is essential to halt the Islamic Republic's nuclear development activities. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo following meetings with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and other Japanese officials, Barak said, “I think there is consensus now in most of the world's capitals that Iran should not be allowed to become a military nuclear power.” He added that at least in the West, and in North American, “no option should be removed off the table in regard to dealing with the threat” of...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak alluded to the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza Sunday as he warned that Israel would strike back at terrorists there. "Since Friday, about 36 missiles have been fired from Gaza at Israeli communities," he said in a speech at the World Policy Conference in Vienna. "Israel will know how to defend itself and will not let this situation continue. [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon evacuated the Gaza Strip and took out every last soldier and civilian, gave instructions to tear down all buildings, even synagogues, so as not to supply any excuse to the Palestinians. And what happened?...

Barak Joins Dots on Mysterious Iranian Explosions Sunday, December 04, 2011 Defense Minister Ehud Barak: 'In Iran These Days Accidents Can Happen As Well As Other Things" 'Those Who Argue That We'll Know When Iran Makes Dash For Nuclear Weapons Ignore Possibility That Iranians Will Get The Bomb On The Sly & Then Become Immune From Intervention' IsraCast Assessment: By Saying Sanctions Would Fail & Refusing To Say If Israel Was Involved In Mysterious Explosions, Barak Inferred That Israel Was Not Ready To Allow Iran To Secretly Develop The Bomb For the second time in two weeks, a major explosion...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down speculation on Saturday that Israel and US-led allies were waging clandestine war on Iran, saying sanctions and the threat of military strikes were still the way to curb its nuclear program. Barak was asked in an interview whether two explosions in Iran last month showed "the war has already begun" through sabotage. "I don't think so," he told Channel 2. "I think that the answer to your question is negative."One of last month's explosions in Iran killed at least a dozen members of the Revolutionary Guards, including a general. Iran called it an accident...

In an interview Thursday morning, Defense Minister Ehud Barak sounded somewhat more pessimistic on the likelihood that the international community could stop Iran's nuclear program with sanctions than he did in an interview on American TV a day earlier. Speaking on Israel Radio, Barak said that although Israel was trying to convince members of the international community to economically isolate Iran, he did not think that effort would work. Despite his pessimism, he said, Israel needed to continue working through diplomatic channels – and avoid the alternative. On Wednesday, Barak had told American interviewer Charlie Rose that it was in...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak reiterated on Wednesday that a nuclear Iran would have dangerous consequences on the Middle East and the entire world. In an interview on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS, Barak said that the recent IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program left no room for mistakes regarding Iran’s intentions. “It’s clear that they are determined to reach nuclear capability,” Barak said. “None of the series of experiments that they were running can be explained other than their pursuing a nuclear military capability. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said Israel was "willing to consider apologizing" for problems that occurred during last year's raid of the Turkish flotilla ship the Mavi Marmara in which nine Turks were killed when they tried to lynch IDF commandos. Speaking to reporters in Washington following a meeting with his US counterpart Leon Panetta, Barak said he would prefer to "come to an understanding" with Turkey rather than wait for the publication of a UN report on the incident, which he deemed "problematic for Israel." "Defense Ministry and IDF legal advisers recommend that we come to an understanding...

While the government has thus far refused to apologize to Turkey over a clash aboard a Gaza-bound boat in 2010, senior cabinet ministers are divided on the matter. Foremost among them are Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak; the former staunchly opposes an apology, while the latter supports it. “This is not a legal matter, but rather a political issue, and is not a question of defending IDF soldiers but of neglecting them, of irresponsibility on the diplomatic level,” Lieberman said Thursday. “If there is an apology, that means admitting defeat on the battlefield and the political...

Sunday’s Cabinet decision to strip Defense Minister Ehud Barak of some aspects of his unilateral authority regarding Jewish neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria is gratifying for the Land of Israel-loyal public. The Cabinet decided to transfer responsibility for the World Zionist Organization Rural Settlement Division from the Agriculture Ministry to the Prime Minister's Office. Specifically, some issues that until now needed to be approved by the Defense Minister will now merely be decided "in coordination with the Defense Minister." Judea and Samaria (Yesha) have not been annexed to Israel, and are still under military control – meaning that Defense Minister...

Policy making for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria is moving from the Defense Minister to the Prime Minister's Office.. The move could be the result of an initiative by Coalition Chairman MK Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and MK Miri Regev (Likud), who demanded that authority over construction be taken away from Barak after they visited Efrat in February. Defense Minister Ehud Barak had requested a delay in discussing any such action until he was to return from Paris. Nevertheless, on Sunday the government authorized the transfer of responsibility for the Settlement Department of the World Zionist Organization from the Agriculture...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the PA should not object to Israeli construction in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem because Israel will just hand over anything in areas ceded during talks, anyways. "There's a reality on the ground and natural population growth. People need to build kindergartens," Barak said, noting another construction freeze is not possible. "But why should the Palestinians care? If a building is constructed on land that will be transferred to them under a peace agreement, they will get the building, hence the issue if of no significance," Barak argued.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak President of the United States Barack Obama President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak Senator Barack Obama with Ehud Barak, July 23, 2008In this handout photo provided by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is briefed by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R) and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (2nd L) on the strategic balance of power in the Middle East as they sit in an Israeli Air Force helicopter before taking off for the southern town of Sderot July 23, 2008 from a helipad in Jerusalem. Obama defended his proposal...

In August 2010, Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced his decision to make the F-35 Lightning II �(aka the Joint Strike Fighter�) as the future fighter plane of the Israel Air Force. Was it the right choice? The F-35 is a fifth-generation combat aircraft. As such it has some unique capabilities that would make every combat pilot’s mouth water: It is stealthy �(that is, nearly invisible to enemy radars�); it has a suit of sensors that enables it to scan and track a large number of targets − in the air, in the sea and on the ground − and provide...

The Knesset House Committee on Monday approved a request by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to split from the Labor party and form a new faction called 'Independence' (Atzmaut). The split was approved with a majority of 11 MKs voting in favor. Shortly after the announcement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a request to begin coalition negotiations the newly-formed faction. Representatives from Netanyahu's office are expected to meet with Labor breakaway representatives MK Einat Wilf and Agricultural Minister Shalom Simhon. Speaking at a press conference at the Knesset after he and four other Labor MKs submitted the request, Barak said that...

At a press conference announcing his split form the Labor party Defense Minister and Labor Party head Ehud Barak slammed the remaining Labor MKs who he said "have been dragged to the Left, to post-modernism and post-Zionism."

Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak is to hold a dramatic press conference Monday morning at which he is expected to announce the splitting of the Labor party into two separate factions.

JERUSALEM – Israel's leader on Sunday dismissed a call from a key government partner to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, a reminder of the obstacles facing already troubled peacemaking efforts. Conflicting claims to east Jerusalem lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute over the area, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, has derailed past peace talks and spilled into violence. Palestinians claim the sector as the capital of their future state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaffirmation of his intention to hold on to east Jerusalem drew criticism from the...

Israel is willing to make a sweeping concession -- dividing control of Jerusalem -- as part of a historic final peace pact with Palestinians, a key Cabinet member revealed yesterday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak signaled that his government is ready to drop its demand that even after the creation of a Palestinian state, Jerusalem would "remain the undivided capital of Israel." "West Jerusalem and 12 Jewish neighborhoods that are home to 200,000 [Israeli] residents will be ours," Barak told the newspaper Haaretz. "The Arab neighborhoods in which close to a quarter million Palestinians live will be theirs," he added, referring...

It was the best hummus I’ve ever tasted. It came in a bowl, drenched in olive oil, with a few small garbanzos and shreds of parsley and hot green peppers sprinkled on top, and just the right amount of lemon juice. The elderly Palestinian man had made the hummus from scratch and served it to us with a salad plate, a bowl of falafels and a tall stack of hot pitas for just under 8 shekels. I was eating in a refugee camp in Ramallah with Bassem Eid, the founder and director of an NGO called Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring...

After protracted disagreements, the Israeli Defense Ministry was reported Wednesday to be close to sewing up a deal to buy up to 25 U.S. F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin, which Israeli leaders believe is essential to counter Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. According to the Jerusalem Post, the two sides reached an agreement on several Israeli demands to integrate Israeli technology into the aircraft. That followed a series of visits to Washington by the commander of Israel's air force, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, and the air force's equipment and procurement director, Brig. Gen. Kobi Bortman....

Israel is trying to prevent a big defense contract between the United States and Saudi Arabia from going through, a senior defense source told Haaretz. The deal includes the purchase of scores of new F-15 fighter jets and the upgrading of the 150 F-15s already in the Saudi air force. The source said Israel expressed a number of reservations to the Americans over the past month, and the issue is expected to come up in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meetings in Washington on Tuesday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak raised the deal in meetings with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and...

The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday for talks with Israeli military and defence officials, both sides said. "This is a very short visit -- he will meet with Defence Minister (Ehud) Barak and with (Chief of Staff) Gaby Ashkenazi and a few others from the defence establishment," a US embassy spokesman said. Mullen, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to meet Barak at around midday, the Israeli Defence Ministry said without giving further details. A military spokesman said the meeting would focus on "cooperation between the two...

Israel recently approached the United States with new requests for security-related purchases, Haaretz has learned. The requests included Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM ) bombs for the Israel Air Force, as well as a significant expansion of the emergency stores held by the U.S. army in Israel.The Israeli requests were brought up during recent visits to Washington by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and director-general of the Defense Ministry, Udi Shani, and in conversations with senior administration and Congress officials. The priority list reflects the security threats the defense establishment believes Israel will face in the next few years, i.e. the...

In a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on February 26, 2010, Defense Minister Ehud Barak made extensive reference to Iran, its attempts to obtain nuclear capabilities, and the policy ramifications for the major powers and Israel towards Iran. Despite a certain measure of opacity in his address, Barak did make some unequivocal statements of interest. These express the situation assessment prevalent in Israel regarding Iran’s nuclear goal and the gaps between Israel and the American administration and their implications from Israel’s perspective. What follows are highlights: a. Iran is a threat challenging not only Israel but...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday reiterated his view that Jerusalem must enter peace talks with Damascus in the near future, prefacing his message with a warning to Syria not to make a military gamble against Israel. “I’ve heard some statements about Syria. I do not recommend to any neighboring country, including Syria, to put us to the test. Having said that, I do believe a genuine negotiation with Syria is one of Israel interests. I keep on calling on [Syrian President Bashar] Assad – we all understand what’s on the table and the time is now,” Barak said during...

The IDF’s deployment along the Golan Heights did not change on Thursday, despite the escalation in rhetoric on both sides of the Israeli-Syrian border. Relations between the countries took a turn for the worse on Monday, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a gathering of senior IDF officers that in the absence of a peace deal with Syria, Israel could find itself at war with its neighbor to the north. The war, he said, would be pointless since its conclusion would likely be followed by immediate peace talks that would focus on the same issues that are currently separating the...

day after the German press revealed that Iran would be capable of manufacturing a nuclear bomb within the coming year, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that the continued stalemate in the peace process with the Palestinians poses a greater threat to Israel than a nuclear bomb in the hands of the Islamic Republic. "The lack of defined boundaries within Israel, and not an Iranian bomb, is the greatest threat to our future," Barak said during a conference in Tel Aviv. On Wednesday, Barak will head to Sharm e-Sheikh for talks with President Hosni Mubarak that will focus on...

Days after completing a test of its Iron Dome shield, Israel says it will take years before the Jewish state's new rocket anti-missile system will be fully deployed. The warning was sounded by Defense Minister Ehud Barak who predicted, meantime, that once deployed along his country's borders with Gaza and Lebanon, the Iron Dome system will significantly reduce hostilities from militants. Developed over the last two years at a cost of $200 million by state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., the Iron Dome uses small guided missiles to destroy short-range rockets used by Hezbollah and Hamas militants. The system, which...

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that Iran's recently diclosed second uranium enrichment plant is "immune" to conventional bombing. "The new site near Qom is meant for enrichment. What was revealed by the Iranians had been built over years and is located in bunkers that cannot be destroyed through a conventional attack," Barak told parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee. Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog in September that it was building a second enrichment plant near the central shrine city of Qom, after Washington accused it of covertly evading its notification responsibilities under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Confirmation...

The recently-revealed Qom nuclear plant in Iran is buried so deep under concrete that a "regular" military attack would not affect it, Defense Minister Ehud Barak revealed to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on Monday. Concerning Iran, the Defense Minister said that the Qom nuclear reactor was under construction for several years and is buried in a bunker that is resistant to regular bombing. He did not mention the prospect of a nuclear strike.

Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a hit-to-kill capability. Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009. "They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said the assessment within the Defense Ministry and military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the incoming missile.

While Israel is interested in purchasing the fifth-generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin, it will likely hinge its order on US acceptance of its demand that Israeli defense industries be allowed to participate in the aircraft's production, senior defense officials said Thursday. On Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and discussed potential Israeli involvement in the production of the JSF, also known as the F-35. In the past, Israeli aerospace companies have been integrated into the production of aircraft purchased by the IAF. During their meeting, as well as a meeting...

Westminster Magistrates court in central London rejected on Tuesday a petition urging the issuance of an arrest warrant for Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the grounds that he committed "war crimes" due his part in IDF Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, last January. The court sided with arguments submitted by the British Foreign Ministry, which stated that the defense minister was a state guest, and therefore was not subject to such lawsuit. Earlier, it was reported that the court postponed the hearing to an unspecified date, but proceedings began less than two hours later. In the first case...

Westminster Magistrates court in central London postponed on Tuesday evening a hearing over whether to issue an arrest warrant for Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the grounds that he committed "war crimes" due his part in IDF Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, last January. In the first case of its kind since the publication of the Goldstone Report, a group of Palestinians had appealed to the court seeking Barak's arrest. Despite the petition, Barak decided not to change his plans for his UK visit, with his bureau releasing a statement saying: "No arrest warrant has been issued, and...

How is this going to go down at the White House? According to Chris Matthews, Hillary Clinton doesn’t work for Barack Obama. He might have named her Secretary of State, but she’s not his “employee” and doesn't see herself taking orders from him. Instead, she and Bill are “coalition partners” with the president. Matthews made his comment to Pat Buchanan in the course of discussing Hillary’s trip to Mexico, where she blamed American drug demand for the drug-gang violence south of the border. CHRIS MATTHEWS: She sees her ability and her sway to be much larger than simply taking orders...

In a bid to gain the vote of the Russian immigrants in the elections, Labor leader and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will quote Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's statement about killing Chechen terrorists "on the toilet." "As you people say, they should be wacked when they're on the toilet," Barak will say in a radio election broadcast intended for Russian speakers. Labor, which is launching its campaign among the Russian speakers this afternoon, will ask them to support him, as they did when he last ran for prime minister 10 years ago. The indirect allusion to Putin is Barak's way...

Defense Minister Ehud Barakon Saturday defended Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip Saturday, saying Israel had no choice and that "the time has come to fight." Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Saturday: "until now we have shown restraint. But today there is no other option than a military operation."

Government and police spokesmen would have us believe that the carnage in Jerusalem on Wednesday was unavoidable. Husam Taysir Dwayat, the convicted rapist, burglar and drug dealer turned jihadist who mowed down innocent people with his bulldozer on Jaffa Road was not suspected of links to terrorist organizations. The sociopathic, violent criminal who had "returned" to Islam over the past month raised no red flags. There was nothing to be done. No one is to blame. If the protestations of the government and the police that nothing could have prevented Dwayat from using his bulldozer to murder three people sound...

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has ordered the army to prepare to demolish the home of the Palestinian who killed three Israelis in Jerusalem. The order follows advice by Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz that the proposed demolition could create legal difficulties, but would not be illegal. An Israeli rights group has said such a move would be collective punishment. B'tselem says it has written to Mr Mazuz demanding that he prevent the attacker's home from being demolished. The group argues that the demolition would, as collective punishment, be illegal under international humanitarian law. Hussam Dwayat went on the rampage at the...

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak met Tuesday on the sidelines of the Socialist International congress in Greece. "I would like to salute the pragmatism of Mr Abbas, who wants to adopt with us a common strategy to contain terrorism," said Barak a few minutes after the meeting, according to a translation of his remarks. For his part, Abbas called upon Israel to end its "siege" of Jerusalem, act on Jewish settlements, and reduce the number of military checkpoints which "destroy the lives of thousands of Palestinians". Both men were to meet separately with Greek Prime...

Incoming Defense Minister Ehud Barak is planning an attack on Gaza within weeks to crush Hamas, it was reported on Sunday morning. Britain's Sunday Times quoted senior IDF sources as saying that the planned Gaza assault would require 20,000 troops to destroy the bulk of Hamas's military capability in a few days. The raid would be triggered by Hamas rocket attacks or a resumption of suicide bombings, said the British newspaper.

The Palestinian civil war is about to become a wider conflict. THROUGH the heat haze, the sounds of shots and screams carried to the desperate men holed up inside a great white building in Gaza City. This was the American-built headquarters of the Office of General Security, a “moderate” Palestinian intelligence service charged with tracking and curbing the activities of Hamas extremists in an attempt to bring stability to Gaza and pave the way to peace. Sweating, terrified, gabbling into their dying mobile phones to the outside world, the hunters were now the besieged. Nearby, neighbours cowered in their high-rise...

But he warns that if Tehran gets a bomb, 'others will follow' On a day in which Iran was found to be in defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand to stop enriching uranium, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he remains unafraid of his nation's rogue regional neighbor. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has famously called for the destruction of the Jewish state. That task would be made considerably easier if anti-Zionists were in possession of a nuclear bomb, which the Bush administration and others have claimed is Iran's intention. But Barak, speaking to a crowd of hundreds at...

Weekend Talk Show Preview - Analysis for August 12th and 13th, 2006On the shows this weekend I'm most interested by Vali Nasr, on CNN, and Ken Mehlman, on Meet The Press.  I think we'll learn more about the events in the Middle East from Nasr and more about the coming campaign from Mehlman than all of the other guests, combined.  Nasr is an expert, from Iran, on the issues of conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.  I actually view this as our best hope of winning the coming world war.  Just as Communists and Nazis joined forces to start World...

The hegemony over the Hebrew press in Israel by the Far Left has always been a threat to Israeli democracy. The Left utilizes its near-monopoly over the Hebrew press to promote its extremist and defeatist agenda in a naked manner. The Oslo debacle would never have occurred without Israel's Far Left exercising near-totalitarian hegemony over the Hebrew press and electronic media. But now there is a clear and present danger that Israel's Leftist-controlled Hebrew press may simply "steal" the election away from Ariel Sharon and grant it to Amram Mitzna. It was of course expected that the press would conscript...

On Dec. 5, 2001, ImClone Systems, a biotech company that was seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a promising anti-cancer drug called Erbitux, saw its stock peak at a price of $74 a share and begin an earthward trajectory. On the evening of Dec. 6, ImClone’s chief executive, Sam Waksal, 54, threw his annual Christmas party at the 5,000-square-foot Thompson Street loft that he calls home. Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman was in attendance, as well as former New York Times executive editor Abe Rosenthal and art dealer Larry Gagosian. Film producer Keith Barish put in a brief appearance,...

A new political map Separate existence of Labor and Likud does not represent new consensus Ehud Barak Photo: AP Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Alex Kolomoisky Institutions last long after they have stopped being relevant. Some come crashing down suddenly, while others die a slow death. The Labor Party is an example of an institution dying a slow death. It is true some political parties replace their old platform with a newer one, draw younger supporters and offer updated leadership, but there is no sign of this occurring in Labor, which is led by an 81-year-old man, while his apparent successors are...