Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for laying the groundwork for a new war ahead of Israeli elections on October 27.
“[Netanyahu] is preparing the infrastructure to go to war in a way that would postpone the elections,” Barak said during an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Friday.
He further called for Netanyahu to be removed from office, declaring, “We must do everything to remove him from power on October 27, once and for all.”
Barak also launched a scathing personal attack on the Israeli premier, saying Netanyahu “lies as he breathes, as he eats French fries, and as he leaves a restaurant without paying.”
The former premier’s remarks came amid growing debate over Netanyahu’s warnings about “possible attacks” before the election and his consultations with senior security officials over new offensives on several fronts as the regime continues its aggression against Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
The upcoming election will be the first general vote in the Zionist entity since the October 7, 2023 attacks, which were followed by genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 174,000 others.
On the other hand, Netanyahu has also threatened retaliation against those found responsible for the September 30 incident involving Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The Israeli PM said investigators were examining whether the person involved had acted on instructions from another party, claiming that “whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”
The incident has since become part of the election campaign, with Netanyahu’s opponents criticizing his handling of the case.
Meanwhile, a source close to the UAE government told Israeli news website Ynet that Netanyahu was exploiting the Flydubai incident for political purposes saying “the elections are managing the event, not logic.”
“We are going crazy over Israel’s behavior,” the source exclaimed, comparing Netanyahu’s conduct to “an arsonist who runs to start the fire and then runs to put it out.”
Former adviser Daniel Levy also said Netanyahu benefits from the Flydubai incident as he pushes other politically damaging issues out of the headlines.
Source: Israeli media (edited by Al-Manar)