Barak: I won`t participate in `stinking trick` to oust Peretz

Ehud Barak seems to have quite a number of followers in the Avoda Party (Labor Party) despite his past ?mishap? when was left nearly without any followership. In the meantime he may have learned of his ?shortcomings? which led to his fall down as well as he became a multi millionaire who adopted a ?befitting lifestyle? in one of the most exclusive Tel Avivian sky scrapers. ? Let us hope that his aspiration, if any of that sort to become the chosen leader of Avoda Party will not make him a windfall for Ehud Olmert?s present spin.

how will we survive?we are so used to being abused by our government leaders and their lackies that we might not be able to cope without our regular chastisements?a good riddance to all the rebels-moses should have left them back in egypt.

as i was saying, Barak for PM, give back all Lebanese prisoners once and for all, hand over mine field maps (not the old ones becuase after the war Israel handed those over, the ones that show the new freaking mines) Give over Shebaa farms for GODS SAKE! The Golan is controlled by Israel, which means Israel has the higher ground, and guess what? Stick a few Howitzers there and you're set, any Hezbillah activity and you can blow them off the face of the earth! And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP THE FLYOVERS! If you like Lebanese scerery, make peace and come over. And if Syria invades, i think you'll get the news just as fast from CNN rather than an F-16. So stop SCREWING AROUND AND GET IT DONE. Once that happens, Hezbillah will stick around for a a few months just in case and then their armed wing is gone, mind you, they'll be the govt. by then! Thanks to the terrific Olretz (olmert, Peretz, Halutz). Shalom Aleichem/Salam Aleikum

I supported Peretz and likewise Olmert when they came to power but i realised it was a massive miscalculation on my part as i did njot realise how much both these idiots wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to put themselves on the wall of the Great Defenders of Israel. They killed 1200 innocent people, caused the deaths of 100+ IDF soldiers, collapesed the Galilee economy, besmerched the reputation of the IDF and actually in my opinion revealed it for what it really is (but lets not go into that). Barak is the most decorated soldier in Israel, he has made a good name for himself compared to other Israeli politicians and despite what many might think he has made so brave, daring, important wise and positive political and military moves for Israel. He would have been good with Sharon and Peres in Kadima but, you cant have everything. Barak for Prime Minister cont on next post

If only our leadership would come together for the betterment of Israel,if our leaders truly love Israel then they must accept the facts of this new reality...take responsibility where it is needed,for each of their failings...and strive to correct them...or simply leave and allow others that are more suitable to take their place.For if they do not Israel will fall.

When Barak was Prime Minister in 2000 he offered the Palestinians half of Israel. What will he offer this time around when he becomes Defense Minister and a future Prime Minister. Peretz is dumb and useless as Defense Minister but he is not an idiot.Barak should focus on getting rid of Katsav who is a sex prevert and then apply for the job of President for which he would be excellent.

Wishful thinking David, as far as I can predict only the " & CO " will step down in the best case. PM Olmert - the head shark and definetely most useless and despicable character of the three - will find a way to hold on to his position and keep on leading the country into more disasters, just watch and see. I so much hope I'm wrong but I'm afraid not. Regarding Barak's exclamation concerning not participating in the "stinking trick" to oust Peretz, just show me one Israeli politician who will not stab the other's back in order to improve his own position. The signs on the wall are already there.

Who can forget that at the start of the war Peretz uttered this line - "Nasrallah will not forget the name, Amir Peretz." Jeez, the jackass was more worried about scoring political points than taking care of business - in fact, if Peretz had half a brain, he never would have pushed so hard to become DM , as he was so MANIFESTLY unqualified. As for Barak, he will never admit that his term as PM was a disaster . Finally, Olmert is just a SLEAZY, SLIMY weakling whose family of lefty hypocrites is also a disgrace to Israel.

Barak can be praised for his party loyalty. But as a failed Prime Minister, is he anyone to be defending a totally incompetent minister of defense?

Peretz was not qualified to be a Defense Minister, and Olmert knew it. He personally wanted the Treasury prtfolio but this was already promised to an Olmert friend. Peretz was talked into the Defense anyhow, hoping that the army will guide him in case of warfare and that he could implement some order and justice in the occupied territories. His situation became precarious when the Chief of Staff not only did not cooperate with him but actively mocked him. The inexperienced Peretz followed Ahitopel's advice of the army seeing himself trapped between being ignored or defending the indefensible. Peretz is a decent and capable man but he was thrust by the PM into a no win situation. Sure Olmert would love to have now a general as Defense Minister who could rein in the army (that just wrecked his summit with Mubarak), but how do you do it without losing the coalition? To make the issue simple; the fish stinks from the head. It's all Olmert's responsibility. Fire yourself, Olmert.

The political infighting in Israel (which is not new) is very disappointing. Israel is literally fighting for its life, while her politicians are fighting for cabinet portfolios. If Peretz was not qualified to be Defense Minister, why was he appointed in the first place? Why did he accept this position, when he lacked experience for it. But, there is more than one person to blame for the Lebanon War II debacle. Israel needs real leaders, whose only interest is the betterment of the Jewish People and the survival of State. Will real leaders please step forward. The People of Israel need you!

Weird translation, Haaretz staff. Sounds like Hebrish to me.

If we could theoretically leave politics out of the discussion for a minute it would be clear to all that Peretz is a terrible choice for the position and should be removed asap.He was appointed because of politics not because he has ANY qualifications.Israel cannot afford to play politics with such an important position.Shame on Olmert for appointing him in the first place.....for that alone I would remove Olmert .

Your suggestion that Israel attack Lebanon befuddles me. I had that you Arabs "Loved" each other, since you all believe in the Prophet. The problem is that Lebanon has terrorists as does Gaza & the West Bank. To make things a bit more balanced and maintain impartiality, I was thinking more on the lines of Fatah/Hamas attacking Hezbollah and leaving Israel out of it altogether. Let is ramin a family get together, sort of a mutal destruction picnic. What say you?

After years of strugles and General leading your Army, you never rested and enjoyed calm in the border with Lebanon. You saw all militia are technicaly dropping their waepon and hidding to the capital for no military conforntation for power. Plus you do know what you can fear with the chance to get prepared for it. if any of your General has done that in less then 1 years in post and less then 1 month of war then bring him up to replace Mr. Pretez. Again, the war is a way to do politic, the goal is to acheive peace. Good luck

Peretz's advisors warn that the removal of Peretz will lead to the toppling of the government. For real! Is this true, if so, please, everbody, let's support Olmert's decision to fire Peretz. Ready! Three cheers for Olmert...Rah Rah Rah.

if he isn't

All these schemes and cabalistic developments are the products of some "courtiers" (men of the Court of Sir Olmert) to try and salvage what is left of Kadima's regime. It is not whether Peretz is an ex-General (how hypocritical for some Posts to syggest that Israel need a Captain of the Army at the helm of Defense: Do we want another Alexander the Great, or Napoleon the Butcher. BTW we already have two ex-Chiefs, Mofaz, and Ben Eliezer. and more), or he might not, Peretz be re-elected to Labour head: no such luck, he is too smart to be caught by such de-generals as Barak and Ayalon. Thus it is Olmert who Wynograd will degrade, not Amir; since he was the Top man and has given all the orders. I predict that Mr. Peretz will be the head of the next coalition whose configuration won't have Lieberman and definetly will include Netanyahu. Mrk this in your calendars, People.

As much as I cant stand this government and think the sooner they are all gone the better what this incident does proove is that Israels politcal system is a joke. When its physicly impossible for a government to govern the country alone then it means that everytine you upset your coalition partners they have the capability to bring down the government thats not democracy. Israel needs to get rid of this stupid proportional representation system it needs a system where it is possible for a single party to run the country that means that what the party promises to the voters before the ellection they can follow through with and not have to shelve it to keep the coalition partners sweet and government in power. The local people should choose the local representative not simply let the party impose candidates on them from the top of their list. Israel is nearly 60 its time the politcal system evolved into something more democratic and more practical.

Clickfool, I may have disagreed with some of your "Responses" in the past but with this one I'm in FULL AGREEMENT. You're so right, the country with it's present leadership - particularly with MR. "Self-Satisfaction" Olmert - is like a runaway train heading at full speed straight for the abyss.

The Lebanese are the terrorists one and Lebanon is full of terrorists. The coming days will prove to you.

For sure Olmert is trying to divert attention from himself by putting Peretz in a bad light. With a non-popularity rating of 77 percent of the Israeli public, Olmert is standing himself at the very edge of the abyss and liable to take the fall himself any moment. His only saviour so far seems to be the fact that the public is not persistant enough to demand his immediate resignation. As usual, lots of words but few deeds. Even though Peretz may not be the best minister of defense, at least he's making an effort. But Olmert certainly is the worst, most egocentric, arrogant and disgusting prime minister the country ever had, no doubt about that. Let's hope at least he won't be able to fool everybody and that something will happen to force him to step down before he does more damage and takes the country completely to the dogs. The sooner he steps down, the better it will be, hopefully BEFORE Peretz and Halutz. THIS MANIPULATING AND BACK STABBING AT THE EXPENSE OF THE COUNTRY HAS TO STOP

And the downside is...???

Does any of this matter? The entire Israeli political establishment is loaded with duds, men without a single original idea in their heads. The Israeli State is like a runaway train, heading for an abyss. Periodically different faces emerge from the back of the train to come up to the front to polish the brass and stare at themselves admiringly in the mirror, but the train rattles on towards destruction, regardless.

It is time for Israel to stop being the joke of the world.The corruption of Israel's leaders reflect on the people and if we do not demand a complete change then we are part of the corruption

Now, learning that this whole dismissing-of-Peretz fiasco is a vast ploy or an abysmnal joke, it really makes one want to puke.....

It's finally time for these three stooges to leave and let's hope it's sooner rather than later.

is better government fall than loos ISRAEl.this jackass should go home long time ago

then MK Peretz should consider another portfolio if offered in Cabinet. Why should this government fall, once again in Israeli politics, because of conflicting personalities, avoidable blunders such as the Lebanon war, etc. What about the global issue of reaching peace in the Middle East. For the sake of all populations in the region, stop this organizational politics and lead the country in unison by supporting a leader who needs to make the necessary concessions close to the 1967 border. Are the religious in Israel going to vote Labour? Unlikely. The Russians ? Unlikely. Look at the years of evolution for one person, Ehud Olmert, to even come this far to making "necessary concessions". Who is Peretz kidding? This is not about one person and their legacy, it's about world peace and achieving agreement this year 2007. There must be consensus within the Israeli government, or we're in big trouble.

Let's suppose that the entiere gov say to you : here you go, we are all living? who would you like to come in? what they are suppose to do? what should be their agenda? and how are they going to do it? it is good to make a conception online before doing it on the ground and start crying again. good luck

The rumor may have been intended to express dissatisfaction with Peretz as a way for Olmert to look a little better. But I don't believe Olmert actually intends to fire Peretz. Peretz will probably be gone as Defense Minister pretty soon and there is no need for Olmert to destroy his coalition over it now. Two big events are coming up: 1. The Winograd Commission report (looking into the "war") is expected within 2 months. If they criticize Peretz severely, he will have to go. 2. Labor elections for leader will be held by end of May. Peretz is expected to lose. The winner is expected to be either Barak or Ayalon, both Generals, who will take over Defense. Any way you look at it, Peretz may be gone by himself. But if Olmert fires him, Labor will have to leave the coalition.

God save us from Bibi and Lieberman. Better an incompetent Olmert than an irresponsible Bibi and Lieberman. Seems Israel has great choices!

He doesn't really work and play well with others, though (especially Arabs). Olmert wouldn't have to teach him how to deal under the table, he already has a pretty good handle on that. Come to think of it, Bush already has this position in Israeli government, but Peretz gets the paychecks. Maybe this newspaper report is sending a secret message to Peretz to forward some of those seed shekels to Texas, OR ELSE.

I no longer see the faces of these corrupt, bumbling and reprehensible characters leading us to national disaster. BE GONE, BE GONE. Iran is just around the corner.

The rumor may have been intended to express dissatisfaction with Peretz as a way for Olmert to look a little better. But I don't believe Olmert actually intends to fire Peretz. Peretz will probably be gone as Defense Minister pretty soon and there is no need for Olmert to destroy his coalition over it now. Two big events are coming up: 1. The Winograd Commission report (looking into the "war") is expected within 2 months. If they criticize Peretz severely, he will have to go. 2. Labor elections for leader will be held by end of May. Peretz is expected to lose. The winner is expected to be either Barak or Ayalon, both Generals, who will take over Defense. Any way you look at it, Peretz may be gone by himself. But if Olmert fires him, Labor will have to leave the coalition.

Peretz had NO military command experience, he shouldn't have been Defense Minister in the first place. He was a union leader, not a military one. He did a LOUSY job in Lebanon and is doing a rotten job in Gaza. Whether his ancestors were Moroccan or not has no bearing on the situation.

Olmert wants to replaced Peretz with Ehud Barak. An obvious trick to save Olmert - but we are tired of this guy anyway! Get rid of him!

Bibi & A. Liebermann now, please! Grandma Olmert "thinks" he can save his skinny behind if he fires everybody else; what a misjudgement once more!

Non-sense I say, it was non-sense. I wished it were true, then we could have gotten ride of Olmert. Your wish for Livni, so that the "enlightened" Israel, will be on the level keel as Merkel, soon Segolene Royal of France and to close the quartet: Hilary Clinton. Well. why not a new dawn. Maimonides will be proven right (well Aristotelian speaking)

Looks like the Gang of Three are starting to break up. Is Olmert going to sack Peretz? How will he keep a coalition if Peretz doesn't want to play scapegoat? Where does this leave Halutz? Will sacrificing Peretz save Halutz? Or will Olmert toss him to the sharks next? There is blood in the water. . .

This must be the only good news coming out of Israel since Olmert & Co. took over the helm and run the country to the ground. Let's hope that this will cause a chain reaction which leads to the demise of of Olmert & Co.

Halutz is firing his generals to cover up his incompetence. Olmert is firing Peretz for the same reason. Who will fire Olmert and Halutz?

Peretz not only lacks military background but the courage to admit wrong. The failure in Lebanon was the perfect example of bad judgement and ambivalent directives, the lack of sense not to implement standing plans and strategy more than warrants his dismisal. By the way the first comment is out of place since Ha'aretz is not the only paper reporting on this issue that somehow brings unanimity on Peretz's dismisal.

Peretz should not be blamed for the debacle of the recent Lebanon war. The sorry state of the IDF was due to those who came before him. However, if Peretz is wise and a patriot, he should step down for the sake of the future, which looks dire at the moment. A more experienced military man is needed for the job now.

Why should Pertz step down when Olmert has not? where is the evidence against him? Is it any different from that against Olmert? I can't imagine so. Dutch

Bibi's the guy !!!!!!

IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE TO NEW ELECTIONS THE ANSWER IS OF COURSE NO THE PHNEY PARTY KADIMA CBORN FROM DESPERATION BY SHARON IS ABOUT TO DEPART !!!

This is definitely a false rumor. Olmert has not done the right thing since he took office, and firing Peretz is so obviously the right thing that it is too good to be true.

The usual political manipulations, machinations, and revolving doors might be distracting if, Lord help us, there were actual problems on the horizon, but as the neighborhood is still and quiet, time and energy can be best lavished on ambition and one-upsmanship.

Like someone once said about killing all the lawyers... 'that's a good start'. Now like we all feel, OLMERT must also be booted out of office.

Lieberman will not be the new defense minister. If this happens the world will see the difference between the actual "disproportionate use of force" and future actions that the Pals would love to take against Israel if they would have the IDF arsenal:))

Having cold feet?! I suspect that the overall gist of my Post does ring quite disquiting for you. Well, i won't dare you, but I let that to your decency.

I hope Olmert follows through with this but wont get to excited untill Peretz is gone and there is a capable man is doing his job preferbly a former general who actually knows the meaning of defense. We have had Olmert talk about kicking Peretz out of the defense job before but he didnt follow through .. will he show some leadership quialities this time and force him to give up the defense job if he refuses or will he be all talk no action again?

Now the meek (according to rumours spread by Haaretz Services; as trial baloon) wants to inherit the world. Olmert has suddenly remembered that Mr. Peretz does not have security background when he, Olmert, formed the government with the help of Labor party, which comes with its Leader Mr. Peretz. It is just a game, an extension of the psycho;ogical one Olmert played on Mr. Peretz, when Lieberman was called to join the coalition. It did'nt work then, and won't work now, unless Olmert wants to commit political suicide and triggers early elections: You fire the head of your partners in the coalition, equal to early demise of the government. But, Haaretz is one conduit for Olmert games; in due anti Mr. Pertz, Haaretz is swiftly willing to oblige. Bravo, Haaretz.

Peretz was doing a good job in lebanon last war but now its time for him to go. He attacked ramallah today.

It is a good choice to ask Mr. Peretz to step down. But this does not absolve you Mr. Olmert from your own responsibilities in the last Lebanon war. You are in it together.