Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has deleted the problematic tweet he published on Tuesday, in which he revealed that Israel possesses nuclear weapons. Israel has long maintained a policy of ambiguity on the nuclear issue. In the tweet, Barak sought to describe the concerns among Western countries over the government’s proposed judicial reform and wrote, "It sounds weird to us. But in Israelis' conversations with diplomatic officials in the West, their deep concern emerges about the possibility that, if the coup d'état in Israel succeeds, a messianic dictatorship will be established in the heart of the Middle East, possessing nuclear weapons, and which fanatically wishes for a confrontation with Islam centered on the Temple Mount. In their eyes - it's really scary. It's not going to happen. Have a happy holiday." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was shocked by Barak's words and claimed that he was echoing lies in order to harm the State of Israel. "This delusional and irresponsible man, along with Yair Lapid and several hundred other BDS activists from the left, have been traveling the world in recent weeks, making contact with foreign government officials, Jewish leaders, and economic agents, selling this abominable lie, sowing terror, and mobilizing everyone to harm the foreign relations and the economy of the State of Israel," said Smotrich. "This is one of the biggest and most serious BDS campaigns that Israel has known, and everything is homemade and done in the name of hatred and jealousy for Netanyahu and the national camp." Smotrich added, ''But they won't succeed. They will be remembered forever in the pages of the history of the Jewish people, and the Jewish and democratic State of Israel will continue to prosper and develop." (Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
