Labor demands Kadima MK's dismissal from Knesset security panel

Labor has submitted a formal request to ban Kadima MK Isaac Ben-Israel from membership on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after he said Defense Minister Ehud Barak opposed the attack on the Syrian nuclear facility a year ago, an event Israel has never confirmed or denied.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak speaks during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.

Slideshow: Pictures of the week

Ben-Israel made the comments at a Shabbat-Tarbut event, a cultural discussion held over the weekend in Beersheba.

The formal request was submitted on Sunday by the Labor-Meimad faction to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, shortly after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected Ben-Israel's remarks in the cabinet weekly meeting.

Faction chairman MK Eitan Cabel wrote to Itzik that Ben-Israel should be banned from the committee because "apparently he had used confidential information that was discussed in the committee for his own personal and political reasons."

Olmert also criticized Ben-Israel.

"It is unacceptable that someone dares to express himself on a [security] issue out of personal considerations or out of the expectation for a political gain," the prime minister said. "I reject these remarks and their substance. We were strict about not commenting on this issue during the past year; we must stay restrained and act responsibly, especially when it comes to security issues."

Ben-Israel's comments managed to irritate even Likud MKs. "It seems that [ret. Maj.-Gen.] Ben-Israel has decided to go into political matters instead of focusing on the things that he is good at. His remarks indicate that not every general and professor understands statesmanship and politics," MK Reuven Rivlin said.

In his remarks, Ben-Israel also described Ehud Barak as "the worse defense minister Israel has even known."

He said Barak opposed the attack on the nuclear facility in Syria, "something that is hard to imagine."

"After his failure as prime minister, Barak lost his courage and adopted a policy of 'sit and do nothing' while Hizbullah and Hamas keep arming themselves," Ben-Israel said.