Benjamin Netanyahu is 'making Gaza war worse' by 'avoiding' two-state solution, former Israeli PM tells LBC

23 January 2024, 21:15

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Benjamin Netanyahu is "making the situation worse" in Gaza by "avoiding" the question of a two-state solution, former Israeli Prime Minsiter Ehud Barak has told LBC.

Speaking exclusively on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Mr Barak said "Israel does not have an interest in staying permanently in Gaza…Gazans are not going to go anywhere".

After also calling on Netanyahu to resign, Mr Barak told LBC that it is possible to remove him from power, if influential Israelis "stand up… and demand it".

Mr Netanyahu would have resigned on October 8th 2023 if was PM in Britain, Mr Barak added.

Andrew Marr exclusive interview with former Israeli PM Ehud Barak

It comes after Mr Netanyahu rejected calls for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine after the war.

Mr Barak, who was Israel's PM between 1999 and 2001, told LBC that Israel needs to be open to a "serious discussion" about the two-state solution after the war.

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"No one dares to mention these words in Israel right now because the collective is still under the thumb of the 7th of October but it's clear to all other leaders except from Netanyahu that this is the deal," he said.

"By avoiding it he is making the situation worse."

The war in Gaza started after Hamas carried out brutal terrorist attacks in southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 Israelis.

Israel launched a retaliatory bombardment campaign almost immediately afterwards, which is ongoing.

Since the war started, 25,105 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, while another 62,681 have been wounded, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

"Israel does not have an interest in staying permanently in Gaza. We were there for decades," Mr Barak continued.

"We left there because we felt that it's a major grave mistake to stay there and we don't have to come back. Gazans are not going to go anywhere.

"They're staying there, they will be there. So, they need someone ,a body, or an organisation which is a legitimate leader of the Palestinians… It should stem out from the Palestinians, backed by Arab neighbours, and by the Russians and the UK."