Netanyahu’s escalation of tensions with Türkiye ‘reckless and stupid’: Ex-Israeli premier

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "deliberate" escalation of tensions with Türkiye is "reckless and stupid," former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday.

"It is hard to decide which one it is more," Barak wrote on the US social media platform X.

"It strongly reeks of a political motive to go into elections with a string of security tensions that would fuel public anxiety," he added.

Noting that Türkiye is "neither Iran nor Assad's Syria," Barak said no problem or issue is beyond resolution with Ankara.

"There is no strategic problem with Türkiye that cannot be resolved, mitigated, or postponed over the long term through discreet contacts coordinated with the United States and its influence in Türkiye and Syria. Netanyahu has completely gone off the rails."

He added that Netanyahu is focused not on Israel's security but on political survival, like a "compulsive gambler," amid the "complete failure" to achieve the war's goals and his expected political defeat.

"His reckless conduct is deeply alarming our few remaining allies and friends around the world and in the region."

It will "take a long time" to repair the security and diplomatic damage Netanyahu has caused, Barak argued, adding that "there is no point in adding further reckless measures" that could ultimately backfire.