Former PM Ehud Barak calls on Israelis to 'besiege the Knesset'

Former prime minister Ehud Barak called on Israelis to protest the government and demand action for the government's various missteps, calling on the public to "besiege the Knesset" on Sunday morning. 

"Day and night"

In an interview on Army Radio, Barak was quoted as saying that "30,000 citizens need to camp outside the Knesset day and night" and must do so "until Netanyahu understands that his time is up and the public no longer trusts him."

The former prime minister reiterated his claims of the growing public anger at the government's handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the lack of accountability by Netanyahu and his government over the October 7 massacre.

Setting a date for elections

Barak claims that it is critical that Israeli citizens band together and demand action and accountability on the government's part, with the first step being setting dates for new elections.

"When Netanyahu understands there is no public confidence in him, that three out of four Israelis are calling for him to resign... when the state is shut down - Netanyahu will realize his time is up."

On elections, he claimed: "If we can call elections until the end of March, there is still time to hold elections in June, which is critical."

Barak, along with criticizing the inaction of the Netanyahu government, also discussed the state of affairs in Israel and the role of the public, calling for every member of Israeli society to take action, including party leaders, MKs, citizens, heads of civil society organizations, hi-tech workers, youth movements and teachers' unions, to do everything in their power to protest the government and call for elections. 

He drew historical parallels by referring to former prime minister Golda Meir, who resigned following the Yom Kippur War in a public display of responsibility.  

Although Barak served under Netanyahu as deputy prime minister from 2007-2013, he has maintained a critical stance on Netanyahu, with this interview not the first to call out the prime minister directly, and he had previously criticized the government's judicial reform plans.