Ynetnews: Former Israeli Army chief, Benny Gantz: Israel not under existential threat/Jerusalem Post: Barak: Netanyahu in a panic, knows the end of his reign is near

Former Israeli Army chief, Benny Gantz: Israel not under existential threat
Ron Ben-Yishai/ Ynetnews/06.17.16/ Israel News 

Benny Gantz, speaking at an academic conference on Friday, stated that, while current threats may develop into existential ones, they are not so currently; he stated that ISIS must not obtain chemical weapons and that Israel’s national cohesion is the secret of its strength. Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz said on Friday at an academic conference that the State of Israel is not currently under an existential threat. However, he did say that he presumes that threats do exist that have the potential to become existential, such as the Iranian nuclear program or if ISIS were to get its hands on chemical or biological weapons. Gantz was speaking at a conference of the Open University in Haifa, and he refused to address the statements of former IDF chiefs of staff and defense ministers Moshe Ya’alon and Ehud Barak on Thursday at the Herzliya Conference. However, Gantz intimated that he would prefer activity with social, rather than political, components. On Thursday, Gantz announced that he would be joining former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi in a new educational movement, Pnima (“inside”), that former minister of education Shai Piron intends to establish. Piron himself denied that Ashkenazi and Gantz are joining and said that the details have not yet been fixed. Gantz added that if ISIS obtains chemical weapons, they will assuredly use them. Therefore, it is important to focus on developing the IDF’s intelligence and offensive capabilities, not just in relation to ISIS, but also in regards to other threats to the country. “We need to completely overcome ISIS until the phenomenon disappears,” said the former chief of staff. “This is a kind of idea and kind of organization whose existence the free world cannot accept. We need to conduct a ground war, including international forces, but making sure that local coalitions in the Middle East will ensure that the phenomenon does not recur.”The lieutenant general in reserves stated that it was his opinion that there will be no end anytime soon to the wars currently tearing apart the region and that we can expect “a generation of chaos” that will last more than a decade. Against Iran, said Gantz, we need intelligence, the ability to negotiate and cooperate with international bodies, to develop military defensive and offensive capabilities, and that the West needs to get closer to the Iranian people. Regarding the current situation in Israel, Gantz said, “We must not forfeit our values and our way of life during this war on terrorism. Changing the values and way of life in Israel and the western world in general, would be a triumph for terrorism. We must also strive to offer the Islamic world an alternative to the jihadist idea. And most of all, Israeli society needs to maintain internal cohesion and unity. This is the secret of our national strength, and we must not allow factors to divide us and tear apart our society from within. Unity and solidarity are the sources of national strength, and, without them, we will not be able to handle the security challenges.

Barak: Netanyahu in a panic, knows the end of his reign is near
Jerusalem Post/June 17/17/Barak, who served under Netanyahu as the government’s top defense official, also rejected rumors that Netanyahu had recently offered him to head the Foreign Ministry.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “panicked” because he knows that his leading of the government is soon coming to an end, former premier Ehud Barak said Friday evening. “I’ve known Netanyahu since he was 20 years old, I can see the edges of panic. Netanyahu understands clearly that his days as prime minister are numbered, even if it takes months or years, they are numbered,” Barak posited during an interview with Channel 2, which aired right after the start of Shabbat. “He recognizes that the countdown to the end of his reign has begun, whether it now takes a year or a year and a half.” Barak continued by lamenting the current government’s continuing wayward drift to the extreme Right of the political spectrum, which Netanyahu has failed to stem. “This government is made up only of right-wing parties; there is no balancing element. It is operating in devious ways, ways that endanger the State of Israel,” Barack said. “[Netanyahu] needs to be replaced and thanked for everything he has done for the state …but it’s time to go.”
“Netanyahu is not a magician, he’s gone off the rails,” Barack added, mocking a common refrain among the premier’s supporters who referred to him as “magic” or a magician after his success in last year’s elections. Barak, who served under Netanyahu as the government’s top defense official, also rejected rumors that Netanyahu had recently offered him to head the Foreign Ministry within the government. “I was not offered to be the foreign minister and if I had been offered the position, I would not have taken it,” he said. Barak’s scathing interview with Channel 2 comes right after he blasted Netanyahu at the Herzylia Conference the previous evening, attacking the premier for his lack of vision and said that he alone is responsible for his government’s failures. “Leaders around the world do not believe a word said by Netanyahu and his government,” Barak said. “Who in the name of God gave Netanyahu the authority to lead us to the edge of an abyss? He warned of Israel becoming Belfast, Bosnia, old Johannesburg, or Europe ahead of World War II. “If it looks like the sparks of fascism, walks like the sparks of fascism, and barks like the sparks of fascism, it is the sparks of fascism,” said Barak, mocking Netanyahu’s 2012 “nuclear duck” speech at the United Nations. Barak again hinted at his possible return to politics, which he had done the previous night, saying that he was the only one to “have beaten Netanyahu in an election.””To run for the premiership or stay silent, these are not the only two options… I want to act in order to change the situation and I will help shoulder the effort to change the situation,” he said. In response to Barak’s comments, the Likud party released a scathing statement which blasted the former IDF chief as a failed politician and leader.”Barak wishes for the umpteenth time to return to the position of the Left’s savior… and even as a politicians and former prime minister he still has failed to find a way back into politics.””Barak still simply cannot accept that both the Israeli public and his party have showed him the way out,” the statement said. Taking his swings at the former prime minister, Netanyahu said in closed conversations before Thursday’s Herziliya Conference that “Barak is desperate to stay in the public’s consciousness, so he makes a point of attacking me once a month.” *Gil Hoffman contributed to this article.