Matthew Knott
Foreign affairs correspondent
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak says the Albanese government should feel free to express any reservations about Israel’s war with Hamas, adding his nation needs honest friends rather than mindless barrackers.
One of the most important military and political figures in Israeli history, Barak said he believed rival Benjamin Netanyahu was on borrowed time as prime minister and would be forced from office for the catastrophic intelligence failure that led to Hamas’ October 7 massacre of Israelis.
A long-time advocate of a twostate solution, Barak said the creation of a Palestinian state remained the only viable way to ensure Israel’s long-term security, but the current Israeli government had sought to avoid this outcome in what he described as a ‘‘tragic, historic mistake’’.