“Americans don’t deceive others and they don’t like to be deceived,” Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with Army Radio in response to American criticism of "settlements" in Judea and Samaria.
“The main threat to construction in the 'settlements' and Jerusalem is Netanyahu,” Barak accuses, saying that Netanyahu was supposed to engage in discussions with the Americans to determine where Israel can build according to the road map created by Former President Bush.
With regard to Amona, Barak maintains that the topic is very sensitive and that the complexity of the situation could have been presented to the Americans in a more transparent way. Barak claims that Netanyahu could have explained that the intention was to build an alternate community for the residents with their agreement. A discussion like that, Barak estimates, should have involved the American government, even if the Americans do not accept Israel’s stance.
According to Barak, the Israeli government is being managed like a kindergarten and high ranking American officials are afraid to visit Israel lest they find themselves in embarrassing situations.
“The world wants to be with Israel and not against it. The world doesn't want Israel to forgo its security but does want it to forego its messianic aspirations,” Barak stated.
Barak continues to blame Netanyahu for deceiving the American people into thinking he supports a two-state solution thinks that Netanyahu will lead President Obama to make decisions that harm Israel during the remainder of his presidency. According to Barak, in order to prevent this scenario Netanyahu has partnered with Opposition head Yitschak Herzog (Zionist Union)
Last month, Barak published an Op-ed in the Washington Post slamming Netanyahu's leadership and the defense agreement Israel signed with the United States.
Barak has left political analysts wondering what his recent aggressively critical behavior towards Netanyahu portends. He is unpopular with voters as well as his original political party and has spent the past few years unobtrusively, mostly in the USA. There are rumors that he expects to join an as-yet-undeclared new party.