I quit Labor post over Barak failure to push peace

The last time we met, two days before the opening of the Knesset winter session, I asked Ehud Barak where he was heading. He said the Labor Party was on the right track. I asked why West Bank outposts hadn't been evacuated as promised, and he said that day was fast approaching. I posed a similar question to him toward the end of the summer session several months ago, and he told me the same thing - the day was approaching.

We would meet often in his favorite fortress, his spacious office in the Defense Ministry. As usual, he was in good spirits. Did he know something we didn't?

"Look, Ehud, there is no peace process, there are no negotiations, there's no settlement freeze or outpost evacuation. We haven't done anything we promised the public," I told him. "What will we tell the Israeli public?"

To my astonishment, he said we have no partner, that there's no one to talk to. I remembered that nearly a decade before, when we heard similar lines from Barak, they sank the country into despair and brought a series of misfortunes in their wake.

Is it possible Ehud Barak hasn't changed? Is Ehud model 2009 really the same as model 2001?

It wasn't easy to bring the party into Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Only after Netanyahu agreed to move mountains for the sake of peace and economic and social progress did the Labor members consent to joining. Meanwhile, I looked forward to the pairing of Netanyahu and Barak, hoping the two had learned some lessons from their first miserable term in office, that miracles were possible in the political arena.

If they wanted to move forward, nothing would stop them. If the charismatic speaker and decorated general decide to make history for the nation's sake, who can stop them?

They cooperated as no pair of leaders had before, and the power concentrated in their hands had not been seen since the days of David Ben-Gurion. If they made a breakthrough, the wider public would follow them blindly.

"Ehud," I pleaded with him at one of our meetings, "The public is waiting for news. Party members are despairing - they're beside themselves with worry. They fear that at this pace, the party won't even be there at the next election."

"Danny," he said, his voice rising. "You don't understand who we're dealing with. We made them a lot of offers, but they refuse to enter negotiations."

I reminded him that we had yet to remove even a single outpost. What message does that send to the Palestinians? Why should they believe us while the hammers at the settlements and outposts don't stop pounding for a minute? Is this the way to help a U.S. president full of good intentions advance a genuine peace effort?

I was left without any comforting answers. I reminded my boss on several occasions that unless things changed, I would create a crisis within the Knesset faction, just one more crisis in a crisis-ridden party.

Yesterday, two hours before I intended to announce I would be leaving my post as the party's faction chair, we held another talk.

"I sat with the prime minister yesterday until 1:30 A.M.," Barak told me. "And you know what we talked about? Outpost evacuation and renewing talks with the Palestinians."

To mark the happy occasion, Barak suggested I postpone my retirement. For some reason, I chose not to meet his request.