Former prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak sharply attacked the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday over the decision not to comply with rulings of the High Court of Justice. In an interview, Barak warned of a worsening confrontation with the judiciary and called on opposition leaders to stand together at the head of a public struggle against the government.

"You have to be blind, naive or a yes-man to refuse to see that this is a sign of what is to come," Barak said about the confrontation with the judiciary. "The issue this is about is less important than the very fact that there is a declaration here by the government that it sees itself as superior to the other two branches. The Knesset was erased a long time ago, but now it is also the judicial branch. As former Supreme Court presidents rightly wrote: this is the last nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy."

Barak, who signed a letter by former heads of the security establishment calling on opposition leaders to fight the government's latest steps, clarified that he was not necessarily demanding full political unity, but rather a common front for public struggle. "I don't think we are in a position to demand that they unite into one party, but we are talking about uniting for the purpose of the struggle against this crazy thing the government is trying to make us get used to. Stand at the head of the public and call on it to go out into the streets. That is their duty."

'There is no connection between Netanyahu's behavior and Israel'

Later in the interview, Barak directed his criticism straight at Netanyahu, arguing that his considerations are not driven by the good of the state. "There is no connection between Netanyahu's behavior and Israel," he said. "His interests today are political, personal and survivalist. The damage to the judicial system is not only legal damage, but enormous diplomatic, security and economic damage. A government that passes draft-dodging laws during wartime, bribes people with billions in political payoffs in order to stay in power, and encourages Kahanism is acting against the public's interests."

Barak also claimed that Netanyahu's conduct is tied to the war and to the hostage issue. "It is clear that Netanyahu has no restraints at all. The man sabotaged entire hostage deals simply because a hostage deal means the war stops. A war stopping means a state commission of inquiry that will examine who is responsible for the October 7 massacre and who is responsible for the policy that Hamas is an asset. So he cannot allow that," he said.

When asked whether he meant that Netanyahu could initiate another war if he saw that his poll numbers were bad, Barak responded sharply: "Why are you surprised? I don't understand. I think the very expression of doubt by someone who is familiar with the matter is part of the contribution to putting the public to sleep. Listen carefully to what Nitzan Alon tells you, the man who was on the inside for two years and worked with him."

The government is not working toward a real solution

According to Barak, even on the diplomatic and security fronts, the government is not leading to a real solution. "We are stuck in Gaza not with an Arab force that comes in and restores order, but with Turkey and Qatar. The only way to defeat Hamas is to replace it with another body that will be legitimate in the eyes of the international community. Netanyahu is deliberately avoiding doing the same thing in Lebanon and is sabotaging arrangements," the former prime minister added.

Barak was also asked how his remarks fit with Netanyahu's calls for a broad national unity government, and he answered with a sharp jab: "I suggest you ask Rabbi Smotrich whether you should believe Netanyahu. Netanyahu himself is a habitual liar. There is no political figure in Israel or in the world who believes him about anything, including his allies."

He was referring to recordings of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in which Smotrich is heard calling Netanyahu a "son of a liar."

At the end of his remarks, Barak placed overall responsibility for Israel's crisis on Netanyahu and called for a different kind of government. "He is responsible for the entire national and international mess that has been created. A new government needs to be one that does not want to destroy the judicial system, does not want Kahanists in it, and will be ready to strike every enemy but is striving for diplomatic arrangements," Barak added.

"Anyone who is ready for that can join, but not anyone from the people who sat in this government, which brought Israel to the edge of an abyss and insists on continuing to march forward," he said.