Former Israeli Prime Minister: Only 'a few weeks' left to destroy Hamas.
(Baonghean.vn) - Speaking to Politico, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that Western support for military operations in Gaza would "evaporate" as public opinion shifted to oppose them.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the Israeli army has only a few weeks to defeat Hamas before Western governments reduce their support for operations in Gaza.
The former Defense Minister and general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), now 81 years old, said: "Listen to the public – and behind closed doors, that's a little clearer."
"We are losing public opinion in Europe, and in a week or two, we will begin to lose European governments," Barak said, as reported by Politico on November 7. "And a week after that, the conflict with the Americans will become apparent," he predicted.
U.S. officials have supported a so-called “humanitarian pause” in Gaza, but have not publicly threatened to withdraw Washington’s support. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has refused to end hostilities. Barak believes Israel will have to “accept U.S. demands within the next two or three weeks, possibly less.”
"One can see the door closing. It's clear we're heading towards a confrontation with the Americans over the attack. The US can't dictate to Israel what to do. But we can't ignore them," he remarked.
However, the former general believes it will take the IDF months, even a year, to push Hamas out of Gaza. Israel has set its main goal as eliminating the Palestinian militant group after it killed hundreds of civilians in an attack a month ago.
As part of its strategy, the IDF has been bombing Gaza. Gaza officials reported that the death toll in the Palestinian territory had exceeded 10,000 as of November 6th.
New evidence of a shift in attitudes in Europe also emerged on November 6th, when Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo criticized Israel's military tactics.
Prime Minister De Croo said: "Bombing an entire refugee camp with the aim of killing a terrorist, I don't think anyone can say that's proportionate."
Last week, the IDF attacked several Palestinian refugee camps, including the large settlement of Jabalia in northern Gaza, which Israel has declared as an evacuation zone. Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht described civilian casualties from the Israeli attacks as a "war tragedy" in an interview with CNN host Wolf Blitzer last week.
Mr. Barak served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and represented his country at the US-mediated Camp David Summit in 2000 alongside Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
