Barak: Ya'alon remark on Peace Now as 'virus' harms diplomacy

Defense Minister Ehud Barak hit back Sunday at Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon for remarks last week in which the former army chief referred to Peace Now and "the elites" as a virus plaguing Israeli society.

Ya'alon, the former army chief of staff who also serves as minister for strategic affairs, told a closed-door meeting of far-right activists last week that he was "not afraid of the Americans" and that anti-settlement groups like Peace Now were "viruses" to Israel.

"The government took upon itself the task of advancing opportunities for peace while securing Israel's vital interests," Barak said. "In order to enable this, we need to keep the process discreet. At this sensitive stage, we must control ourselves and not to leak things that are said behind closed doors. Otherwise, any chance we have to attaining a diplomatic arrangement is in doubt."

During a tour of the northern West Bank on Wednesday, Ya'alon urged Israel to consider resettling the settlement of Homesh - evacuated during the 2005 disengagement - calling it a strategic asset in the face of Palestinian terrorism.

The minister then termed the area "significant territory," adding that the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank in 2005 gave "tailwind to the Islamic jihadism."

Ya'alon is one of Netanyahu's two vice premiers, along with Minister Silvan Shalom, also of the Likud.

Aides to Barak say the defense minister is particularly angry at Ya'alon. Both men comprise one-third of the "sextet" ? or council of six ministers who mull the government's most sensitive defense matters.

The aides added that Israel risks confrontation with the Obama administration by "speaking in two voices." Israel is currently in the midst of sensitive negotiations with Washington over the future of West Bank settlement construction, and Barak is fearful that provocative statements by the government's most senior ministers could compromise Jerusalem's position, sources close to Barak said.