Haaretz: Ehud Barak wrote… Israel must stop talking about Dimona
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called on Israelis to stop talking about the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert, urging them to join what he called the “axis of moderation”, led by the United States, in the face of what he called the “axis of resistance” led by Russia and Iran.
He said that despite the passage of nine months of war in the Gaza Strip, the Israel hasn’t achieved any of its goals, and worse, the strategic paralysis shown by the Israeli leadership portends the outbreak of a comprehensive and long-term regional conflict.
All this is happening at a time when the dispute with the United States is worsening and the Israel is sinking into international isolation.
Ehud Barak wrote on Haaretz newspaper, explaining that this complicated situation has sparked a wave of recent discussions in newspapers and TV channels, centered on expectations or demands that the Israel will use its alleged nuclear capabilities as a means to emerge victorious from this crisis, and there are even those who suggest considering actually benefiting from these capabilities.
According to Barak’s article, the failure to achieve the goals of the war in Gaza didn’t arise from Israel’s use of conventional weapons alone, but was due to a reluctance to define what it wanted the day after of the war to look like, on October 8, the day after Hamas attacked southern Israel.
This reluctance stems from considerations of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about his political survival and the blackmail of extremists in his ruling coalition.
The solution to this impasse, in Barak’s view, lies in two things:
First, the need to remove the obstruction that caused it, i.e. replacing the head (meaning Netanyahu) and removing reckless figures from the government.
The second is the conditional approval of the US initiative to establish a so-called “axis of moderation” under the leadership of the United States, centered around Israel, Egypt, the UAE, and perhaps Saudi Arabia as well, which will equip itself against the axis of resistance, which includes the Iran, the Hezbollah, Hamas and others led by Russia.
The threat of Dimona’s choice and talk about it doesn’t suggest determination and strength; rather, insecurity, weakness, confusion, imbalance and some panic, in the words of Barak, he attributes to the fact that Iran understands our strategic capabilities much better than the Israeli masses.
Although he called the mullahs in Tehran “extremist fanatics,” he nevertheless described them as “metropolised” and impulsive, and “certainly not stupid”.
According to Barak, “The axis of moderation” is the right response to the current situation, where Iran, despite its rapid progress, is still reluctant to develop its military nuclear capabilities.
Even if it does, it could take them another year or so to acquire a primitive nuclear weapon, and a decade to build their first arsenals.
The former prime minister warned that the transformation of Iran into a nuclear state would push countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Türkiye, to seek nuclear weapons as well, which portends a global threat that destroys the entire Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Barak sees talk of the Dimona nuclear reactor in its current context as only distracting Israelis from what is really required of them, namely avoiding the sinking of their country, and calling for joining the axis of moderation.
He concluded by saying that such conversations about Dimona don’t contribute to the spread of correct understanding and common sense or a course of action related to the challenge facing the Israel, which requires stopping them immediately.
