Former Israeli ambassador: Netanyahu completely failed to achieve his war aims

A former Israeli ambassador on Thursday sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of "strategic miscalculations" that pulled Israel into dangerous wars whose aims were unfulfilled, leaving the country weakened on the world stage.

"Netanyahu has completely failed to achieve his war aims," Shimon Stein said in an interview with weekly Die Zeit. He stressed that Netanyahu's reliance on threats and military action, without any accompanying political proposal, has left Israel in a grave situation.

"He has made his country even more dependent on the whims of the US president and further isolated it internationally," Stein said. "Israel finds itself in a disastrous strategic position, with unforeseeable consequences."

Stein, who served as Israel's ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2007, expressed deep concern about the country's direction under Netanyahu, whose political survival, he said, depends on support from ultra-Orthodox parties.

The ex-diplomat said Germany should take a tougher line and increase pressure on Netanyahu's government, including through targeted sanctions on far-right Cabinet ministers.

"Should arms shipments to Israel be halted? That achieves nothing other than hardening Israel's stance even further," he said. "Should Israeli ministers be sanctioned? Yes, undoubtedly — and one shouldn't forget who their boss is, either!"

Stein also backed calls by several EU member states to ban imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The veteran diplomat said that, amid the latest developments in the region, he is "deeply concerned" about Israel's future.

"Can we—as I wish—live in peace with our neighbors in a Jewish, democratic state? These are the big questions to which I have no answers," Stein said.