ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER BARAK QUITTING POLITICS?
JERUSALEM, Israel - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak announced his resignation Monday, saying he will quit politics in
January to spend more time with his family.
His resignation comes at a
highly delicate time for Israel, which is observing a fragile
cease-fire with the militant Palestinian group Hamas after an eight-day
conflict that killed more than 160 people; the overwhelming majority
of them Palestinians in Gaza.
- Barak, who is married and the father of three children, said Monday at a news conference in Tel Aviv that he will continue as defense minister for the next three months, as elections are due in January. He said he won't contest the elections.
- Barak served as defense minister under former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert between 2007 and 2009, and retained the post under Netanyahu from 2009 until the present. He also held the title of deputy prime minister for both administrations.
He had previously served
as prime minister between July 1999 and March 2001, when he was
defeated in an election by Ariel Sharon(right photo). From 2001 until his return to
politics in 2005, Barak worked in the private sector.
Source: CNN
ISRAEL DEFENCE MINISTER RECEIVED DOZEN DEATH THREATS
JERUSALEM – Army Radio says Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has received dozens of death threats since the government decided to slow construction in Jewish West Bank settlements.
Source: AP
- Channel 10 TV has published the contents of one of those letters. The author threatens to "murder" Barak if he's "planning on destroying settlements in Judea and Samaria," referring to the West Bank.
- The author of the letter, which reached Barak's office Tuesday, also threatens to kill Barak's children.
- The threats are taken seriously in Israel. In 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist opposed to his peace moves with the Palestinians.
- The slowdown was announced in late November under pressure from Washington, which hopes to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
