Netanyahu: Barak is responsible for Hezbollah on our border

By Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the 2000 Israeli
withdrawal from Lebanon, led by then prime minister Ehud Barak, saying
the move was irresponsible, and that Barak's administration "brought
[Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasarllah to our fence."

The Likud leader, who also served a term as prime minister, spoke at a
Likud Party conference marking the first anniversary of the Second
Lebanon War, saying Barak was "amateur, rash and adventurous."

Barak won the Labor Party primary on June 12, and polls show the he
poses the biggest threat to Netanyahu's likely bid for the position of
prime minister in the next elections.


"Barak is a dilettante and reckless politician who has a tendency to
pursue political adventures," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu called the 12 months that have passed since the Second
Lebanon War broke out "a year of failure and treading in place. We
believe we can pull this country out of the quagmire; we can walk down
a different path."

The conference was attended by other senior Likud figures, who also
chose to sling barbs at Barak. MK Gideon Sa'ar said that by not
retaliating for Hezbollah's abduction of three Israel Defense Forces
soldiers near Mount Dov in October 2000, Barak, who was then prime
minister, "had created an infrastructure for abductions."

Earlier Tuesday, the Likud Central Committee decided the party's
leadership primary would be held on August 14.

The committee's decision comes in the wake of sharp exchanges Monday
between Netanyahu and his associate and MK Silvan Shalom, who said he
was quitting the race.

Shalom, who announced earlier in the day that he was stepping down
from the election, blasted Netanyahu for trying to carry out a "coup"
rather than conduct a fair election campaign.

"What is going on today in the Likud is reminiscent of the Ba'ath
party in Syria," Shalom said. "There are those who want to stage a
coup, but I will not be a part of that," he said.

Shalom was referring to Netanyahu's intention to request that the
central committee approve early leadership primaries at the beginning
of September.

Shalom has held senior cabinet positions in previous governments,
including finance minister and foreign minister, and has been a long-
time rival of Netanyahu.

"Yet again Bibi has let emotions supersede logic and judgment," Shalom
said. "Almost two years ago, in September 2005, Bibi read in polls he
was beating [former prime minister] Ariel Sharon and so immediately
worked for early primaries," he said.

"Bibi is a champion in small victories, but always loses the big
issues," Shalom said in private conversations, "he is a man of
immediate satisfactions."

The former foreign minister continued: "What then happened to the
Likud? We crashed. Today too, Bibi is reading polls and thinks he
needs to act hastily. This same process, I fear, will have exactly the
same result."

Shalom said that Netanyahu's aggressive management of the party has
driven many activists away. "This aggression is an obstacle blocking
the progress of the Likud. It is what has brought us the lowest
results twice with Bibi's leadership: once with 19 mandates, and once
with only 12," he said.

He described his pulling out of the race by saying: "The upcoming
contest in the Likud will be between Bibi and [extreme right-winger]
Moshe Feiglin, and may the best man win."

He admitted that Netanyahu's decision to hold primaries at such short
notice caught him unprepared.

Shalom's confidants said Monday that despite the polls predicting a
constant advantage to the Likud, the continued rivalry in the party's
leadership would make it difficult for Netanyahu to win in the next
general elections.

"Ehud Barak has an advantage in public opinion," they said. "Netanyahu
keeps talking about the Iranian threat, but at the moment of truth
people rely on Barak more," they said.

Netanyahu's aides said that Shalom had "fled from a showdown when he
realized he was going to be defeated as he had never been before."

Senior Likud sources said that once Shalom quits, the primaries may be
canceled or even held in August rather than on September 3, as
Netanyahu had planned.