Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 1, 2009. The Palestinians said Israeli settlement construction was the 'main obstacle' to relaunching peace talks after the United States backed off from its demand for a complete freeze. Getty Images logo Getty Images 3 weeks ago

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 1, 2009. The Palestinians said Israeli settlement construction was the 'main obstacle' to relaunching peace talks after the United States backed off from its demand for a complete freeze.

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  1. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (R) jokingly pushes Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (C) into the Laurel cabin on the grounds of Camp David as U.S. President Bill Clinton watches during peace talks, July 11, 2000. Arafat and Barak were insisting that the other proceed through the door first. Camp David is the venue where Egypt and Israel made peace in September 1978, and the Laurel cabin was the site of many of the meetings. REUTERS/Win McNamee.
  2. Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 22, 2009.
  3. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, left, attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel.
  4. JERUSALEM - NOVEMBER 22: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak attends the weekly cabinet meeting on November 22, 2009 in Jerusalem, Israel. According to reports, some Likud ministers are displeased by the PM Netanyahu's announcement that the appointment of a new attorney general should be based on the recommendation of the justice minister.
  5. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv November 7, 2009.
  6. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv November 7, 2009.
  7. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv on November 7, 2009. About 20,000 people massed in Rabin Square where the late prime minister was killed by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995, after attending a peace rally.
  8. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv on November 7, 2009. About 20,000 people massed in Rabin Square where the late prime minister was killed by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995, after attending a peace rally.
  9. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv on Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. About 20,000 people massed in Rabin Square where the late prime minister was killed by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995, after attending a peace rally.
  10. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak addresses a mass rally marking the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv on Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. About 20,000 people massed in Rabin Square where the late prime minister was killed by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995, after attending a peace rally.
  11. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defence Minister Ehud Barak prepare to give a press conference at the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 05, 2009. Israel called on the international community to take action against Iran, blaming Tehran for dispatching a weapons-laden ship to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. Netanyahu said the boat intercepted by the Israeli navy overnight on November 4 carried thousands of rockets 'whose only aim is to hit civilians and kill as many civilians as possible.'
  12. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defence Minister Ehud Barak prepare to give a press conference at the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 05, 2009. Israel called on the international community to take action against Iran, blaming Tehran for dispatching a weapons-laden ship to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. Netanyahu said the boat intercepted by the Israeli navy overnight on November 4 carried thousands of rockets 'whose only aim is to hit civilians and kill as many civilians as possible.'
  13. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,center, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, right, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, seated left, Vice Adm. Eli Marom, second left rear, and government spokesman Mark Regev, left, attend a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. Israeli defense officials said hundreds of tons of weapons seized from a commandeered ship could have given Lebanese guerrillas an extra month of firepower in a war with Israel, but the militants denied Thursday that the arms were bound for them.
  14. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, prepare to deliver a statement as Defense Minister Ehud Barak takes his seat, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. Israeli defense officials said hundreds of tons of weapons seized from a commandeered ship could have given Lebanese guerrillas an extra month of firepower in a war with Israel, but the militants denied Thursday that the arms were bound for them.
  15. Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak looks at munitions displayed at the port of Ashdod November 4, 2009, in this picture released by Israel's Defence Ministry. According to the military the arms were found on the Antigua-flagged Francop vessel, intercepted overnight in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 miles (160 km) from Israel. Israeli naval commandos seized the ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of Iranian-supplied arms, including rockets that can hit Israeli cities, to Lebanon's Hezbollah group, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
  16. A picture taken at the Israeli port of Ashdod shows a cargo ship the Israeli navy intercepted carrying weapons 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres) off its coastline overnight on November 4, 2009.'During the night a special marine force intercepted a ship that was supposed to be carrying cargo around 100 (nautical) miles from our shore,' the spokeswoman said, adding that the vessel was sailing under an Antigua flag. The military declined to say what kind of weapons were on board or where the ship was heading. Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak hailed the operation, calling it a 'new success in our struggle against weapons smuggling aimed at reinforcing terrorist organisations that are threatening the security of Israel.'

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