Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is back in politics. He convened a press conference in Tel Aviv this evening and announced the formation of a new party list, which he will head for the elections on September 17 for the 22nd Knesset. Barak said that this is no time "to sit on the fence."
Running on his list will be former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan, Ifat Biton and Kobi Richter. He attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said the aim is "to topple the Benjamin Netanyahu regime with its extreme messianic character and corrupt leadership," and held out his hand to Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, and said that he is looking for alliances.
The new party is expected to eat into the support of Blue and White and possibly push the Labor party below the 4-seat minimum threshold for entering the Knesset.
As head of the Labor party, Barak, 77, served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001. A former IDF chief of staff, he was fast-tracked into the Labor party's leadership by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from 2007 under Ehud Olmert and then Benjamin Netanyahu until he retired from politics in 2013.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 26, 2019
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