Ehud Barak returns to Israeli political arena after victory in Labor Party Elections

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Wednesday June 13, 2007 08:38 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC News george at imemc dot org

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has won the Labor Party leadership elections, vowing to develop the military establishment.

In a tight contest, Barak defeated his opponent, MK Ami Ayalon, by three percent in the elections held on Tuesday. In his victory speech on Wednesday morning, Barak promised to focus his efforts on bolstering the military and Israel's deterrent capability.

"I will invest all my energy and knowledge into strengthening the defense establishment and the Israel Defense Forces, and returning to Israel the power of deterrence," Barak told his cheering supporters.

It is believed that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will name Barak Minister of Defense of the coalition government to replace Amir Peretz, the former Labor leader and Defense Minister who lost popularity in Israel following the war in Lebanon in July 2006.

Barak, who has a long history as an Army General, was Prime Minister when the then Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon visited Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in September 2000 with more than two thousand soldiers, sparking a new wave of violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis.

Shortly after, Barak lost office to Sharon who implemented a stringent military policy in Palestinian areas and commenced construction of the Apartheid Wall inside the West Bank, creating Ghettos in Palestinian population centers.

Prior to the September 2000 clashes, Barak and the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat failed to reach an agreement in Camp David in the USA as Barak failed to provide a credible proposal that would lead to the creation of a viable Palestinian State based on previous UN resolutions.

This failure is believed to be the main reason behind the beginning of the new wave of confrontations sparked by Sharon’s visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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