Bye Bye Birdie!

Hamas police officers greet each other after returning to their
destroyed headquarters [MAHMUD MANS/AFP/Getty Images] 

With the cease fire holding in Israel, a climate of normalcy is creeping back into the shooks of Be'er Sheva and Gaza.

Rockets are not falling on Israeli cities and drones have stopped stalking their prey in Gaza... for the time being.

But just when stability looks like it is in the cards, Israel's Minister of Defence Ehud Barak made the surprise announcement today that he is quitting politics.

Ehud Barak at press conference earlier today
[RONI SCHUTZ/AFP/Getty Images]

The 70 year old has enjoyed a long and successful military and political career and his departure, mere weeks before general elections is bound to have an impact.

Barak stated today that he will remain at his post until the a new government is formed after the Jan 22 vote. There is little doubt that incumbent Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will head up that new government.

A voice of moderation in the Knesset (Israeli Parliment) Barak has acted as a defacto ambassador on unofficial visits to the United States, famously bridging the growing gap between Netanyahu and U.S. president Barak Obama.

The relationship between Obama and Netanyahu is cool to the touch, something rarely seen since Israeli independence. Counted as Israel's strongest ally and closest friend The Obama administration's frequent criticism of Netanyahu's aggressive stance on Iran has proven to be a touchy issue for the two countries.

Netanyahu speaking to the U.N. earlier this year
arguing a "clear red line" must be drawn for Iran. 

Both Netanyahu and Obama have drawn the ire of their political counterpart and many would suggest that the relationship between the two governments may have devolved further if it was not for Barak's middle of the road approach to the Iranian nuclear threat.

His ability to observe the Iranian nuclear threat as an apparent 3rd party was summed up in an American television interview in which he hinted that he would likely strive for nuclear weapons if he were in the Iranian position. He added "I don't delude myself that they are doing it just because of Israel." The comment suggests that while a nuclear Iran poses a threat to Israel he refuses to assume that the sole purpose of the Iranian program is to make war with Israel.

A viewpoint not shared by Netanyahu.

Ehud Barak (second from left) after
Opperation Entebbe with rescued hostages

No stranger to conflict, Barak joined the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) in 1959. In his 35 years of service he was an architect of Opperation Entebbe, rose to the rank of Rav Aluf (Leiutenant-General) and stands as the most decorated  soldier in Israeli history.

Yet with his strong military background he routinely dismissed Netanyahu's willingness to consider pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. An stoic, if not odd position for a man who once famously stated "Until the wolf shall lay with the lamb, we'd better be the wolves."

 Netanyahu and Barak worked harmoniously together since Netanyahu's election. But their differing opinions on Iran and their relationship with the incumbent U.S. administration has done well to sour what amicable ties the two enjoyed.

Current political positions aside, this is not the first time Barak and Netanyahu have butted heads in the democratic arena. Barak ran against and beat Netanyahu in the 1999 Israeli Prime Ministerial Election taking the vote by an impressive margin. As a result Barak stood as Israeli PM from 1999-2001.

And so, as the second Gaza offensive in five years fizzles the Minister of Defence is hanging up his gloves. "I feel I have exhausted my political activity, which had never been a desire for me." he said. "There are many ways for me to serve the country, not just through politics."

This Israeli Government Press Photo shows
then Senator Barak Obama, Israeli Defence Minister
Ehud Barak, and Israeli Foreign Minister Zipi Livini flying
over Jerusalem Old City. July 23, 2008 [Getty Images Europe] 

Stopping short of saying goodbye forever, Barak did evade questions regarding his potential bid for a seat in the Israeli cabinet as an appointed "professional". That said, for the time being it looks like Netanyahu will have one less voice of moderation humming in his ear, and Obama will have one less friend in the Knesset.

It is now anyone's move, lets just hope Ahmadinejad doesn't jump on the opportunity.