Israel always has a special filter to look at things, and that is the attitude toward Jews.
— Ehud Barak
When an army doesn't want to fight, you don't need much experience to win.
I believe President Obama means everything he says about sticking to the unprecedented backing of Israel and keeping all options on the table against Tehran, as well as countering its adventures in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
I don't think that the Iranians, even if they got the bomb, they're going to drop it immediately on some neighbor. They fully understand what might follow. They're radical, but not total mishuginas.
The Palestinian Authority cannot hold the stick at both ends: to incite violence, to participate in it, and to tell the world how - what kind of underdog they are.
If Israel does not find the way to disengage from the Palestinians, its future might resemble the experience of Belfast or Bosnia - two communities bleeding each other to death for generations.
When you launch a surgical operation, you must already be well deployed to follow it through with larger forces. That complicates matters: you need to be ready for a full-fledged campaign on the operational level and have the diplomatic backing lined up as well.
Benjamin Netanyahu seems to avoid any initiative.
With the globalization, it's difficult for governments to impose decisions on private companies.
Iran sees India, China, Pakistan and, allegedly, Israel around them with nuclear weapons.
To think that you can - as a Zionist, Jewish independent state at the end of the 20th century - rule over another people for generations without having any consequences - it's ridiculous.
I will not discuss future hypothetical situations.
Sometimes you have to subordinate strategic considerations to tactical needs.
There is a need to accept a limited disruption of civil liberties in order to penetrate terror.
The Syrian rebels, weakened by infighting, have also been victims of the growing rift between the U.S. and its closest Arab allies.
As long as in this territory west of the Jordan river there is only one political entity called Israel, it is going to be either non-Jewish or non-democratic. If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state.
I hope any government formed in Egypt will understand there is no choice but to maintain the framework of international agreements, which include the peace agreement with Israel.
Russians in top positions always told me, 'We don't want to deal with our allies the way that the Americans dealt with Mubarak,' which is a very live example in the minds of many.
Israel's secret services are allowed to profile.
There is a perception across the Middle East that America is weakened. I believe the perception is wrong. The United States remains the world's mightiest military, economic and diplomatic power by far, with reach and abilities beyond rival.
We are living in an open world. There is a freedom of speech and, clearly, freedom of speculation.
It's the role of a government to defend its soldiers and its citizens.
The aim of the Palestinian terror is not just to kill Israelis but also to break the will of Israeli society in order to dictate a political solution. Israel should never yield to this terror campaign.
Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the destruction of an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad in 1981. This action delayed an Iraqi bomb by at least 15 years. The whole world condemned Israel - only to realize later how farsighted it had been.
If you establish a right unity government, you create an effective platform to make... decisions because you have wider support of your own party.
I know Fiat plans to start manufacturing cars in Iran. This is wrong.
I am confident the Obama administration will work professionally with any Israeli government.
I cannot penetrate the soul of Arafat. I cannot know in advance whether, behind all the masks, he's the kind of leader who can reach an agreement or whether he wants to be the Moses of the Palestinians, staying in front of the river and not crossing into the promised land.
War is no picnic. Wars should be prevented, and if you can't prevent them, you have to put them off.
Either we destroy world terror or world terror will destroy us.
I do not believe the efforts of the international community to stop Iran's nuclear program will bear fruit.
Hezbollah will support Assad to the end because his continuing hold on power is critical to its own survival.
Toward the Palestinians, Israel can only give. But when dealing with the entire Arab world, Israel can get a lot.
The Islamization process in Arab countries is very disturbing.
ISIS has never fought a real battle.
A strong, responsible Israel can become a stabilizer in such a turbulent region.
I respect General Halutz very much so.
Leadership can change its mind; leadership can open its eye. Leadership can even be replaced.
Unfortunately, you cannot let your neck be kind of cut as a gesture for your neighbor, even if it's a good neighbor.
Saddam Hussein has set an example of defiance, especially against the first President Bush, that other Arab leaders cannot and should not emulate; the example leads only to empty gestures and developmental stagnation, both of which the Arab nations have had enough of already.
Once Iraq becomes a nuclear power, the very decision to go to war against it would become a totally different ball game.
As prime minister, I was the Israeli leader who walked the greatest distance in his offers to the Palestinians.
I tend not to believe radical Muslim movements.
There is no entity in the world that will dare attack Israel with chemical weapons.
One of the lessons learned in the Middle East is to never try to anticipate the other side's moves.
Israel is the strongest nation in the Middle East, but we have to apply our strength wisely.
I'm not afraid of elections. I've won every election I've fought in.
Israel will continue to act proactively to prevent the transfer of heavy missiles or advanced air defense systems from Syria to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which, of course, carries the risk of a military showdown.
The Middle East is a region where predictions go to die.
International legitimacy is a fundamental source of power for Israel nowadays.
