Three former Israeli senior officials sharply criticized the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, saying it has “hijacked” the country and failed in its war against Iran.
“On the eve of the 78th anniversary of Israel’s independence (according to the Hebrew calendar), we are forced to say with bitterness: Israel has been hijacked by a regime that views the state’s resources as its own private property,” former army chiefs of staff Dan Halutz and Moshe Yaalon wrote in an article in the Haaretz newspaper.
They described the government as “completely detached from the reality of its citizens, acting as if the country were the personal property of Netanyahu, his wife (Sara), and Miri Regev (transport minister).”
Referring to expected general elections in October, they added, “We call on the public to take back control of the country.”
Yaalon, in addition to serving as chief of staff, previously held the post of defense minister.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak wrote in a separate article in Haaretz that “the enemies suffered painful blows, which weakened them all.”
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He added, however, that “none of the war’s objectives were achieved. Hamas is still in Gaza, and Hezbollah remains in Lebanon.”
“The regime in Tehran survived the joint Israeli-U.S. attack, and the nuclear and ballistic missile threats were not eliminated,” he said.
Barak described it as “a severe strategic and political failure when looking at the balance of power, as Israel and the United States were supposed to win.”
He also said Israel has become “a state subordinate to the United States, which imposed decisive operational and diplomatic decisions on it through harsh — and sometimes humiliating — directives.”
Israel has carried out multiple military campaigns in the region. Since March 2, its attacks on Lebanon have killed 2,294 people, wounded 7,544 and displaced more than 1 million, before US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire last Thursday.
Israel also launched a war on Iran, alongside the United States, on Feb. 28 that killed more than 3,000 people, before Washington and Tehran announced a two-week truce on April 8 with mediation by Pakistan, in hopes of reaching a deal to end that war.
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