Journalists Clash Over Claim of Barak's Refusal to Eliminate Nasrallah
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Journalist Lital Shemesh claimed Ehud Barak refused to kill Nasrallah in 2006.
- Fact-checkers and journalist Ben Caspit disputed Shemesh's claim.
- Barak was not Defense Minister during the Second Lebanon War.
- A failed attempt to bomb Nasrallah's bunker occurred in July 2006.
- Shemesh later admitted to confusing two separate events.
Channel 14 journalist Lital Shemesh sparked widespread social media debate after claiming live on air that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak refused to eliminate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the Second Lebanon War, despite having intelligence information. Shemesh asserted that Barak rejected the operation due to fears of escalation, contrasting this with what she called the "chutzpah" of Channel 12 presenters who questioned why Netanyahu did not coordinate Nasrallah's assassination with the UN.
Fact-checking organization "B'dokim" (Checkers) countered Shemesh's claim, stating that Ehud Barak was not part of the political system or decision-making circles during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. They highlighted that Amir Peretz was the Defense Minister at the time.
Political commentator Ben Caspit vehemently criticized Shemesh's report, calling it "foolishness, shallowness, and misery." He pointed out that Barak was not the Defense Minister and that the operation to kill Nasrallah involved dropping 23 tons of JDAM bombs on his bunker by 12 F-16 aircraft over one night in July 2006, an attempt that ultimately failed. Caspit questioned the journalists' lack of basic fact-checking.
In response to "B'dokim," Shemesh shared a clip from a Kan 11 documentary featuring Oded Eilam, former head of the Counter-Terrorism Division at the Mossad. Eilam recounted an incident around the 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon where intelligence indicated Hezbollah's leadership would convene. While IDF observers identified them, the order to strike was not given due to political considerations related to the withdrawal, a decision Eilam believed could have prevented many future deaths.
Shemesh also shared a slide stating that in May 2000, Ehud Barak fulfilled his promise to withdraw IDF forces from Lebanon after 18 years, a move considered a historic victory for Nasrallah. Addressing "B'dokim," Shemesh admitted she conflated the Second Lebanon War with the withdrawal from Lebanon, stating, "Barak did indeed get cold feet and refused to give the go-ahead to eliminate Nasrallah. I confused the Lebanon War with the withdrawal from Lebanon. Get yourselves a life."
Read the original at Ice