Former Israeli war minister Gadi Eisenkot called on Thursday to dismiss Mossad chief David Barnea from heading the negotiating delegation on the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, and to assign someone else to manage the negotiations file.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Eisenkot spoke about several issues, including that the head of Mossad should be concerned with the Iranian nuclear file, instead of the negotiations with the Palestinians, “because he does not master the Arabic language and does not know the Arab mentality,” according to his statement.

Mossad chief's history is unknown

Eisenkot told the Hebrew website "Ynet" that Israel has been conducting negotiations for 10 months, and that Barnea "has not achieved anything so far," and that Barnea, as head of the Mossad, must be busy around the clock with the Iranian issue.

Eisenkot added that he and his party leader, Benny Gantz, raised the issue several times with Netanyahu six months ago, when they were members of the war cabinet. He pointed out that Barnea "does not understand Arabic and should take care of the Iranians," and that "it is inconceivable that the head of the Mossad, who is supposed to deal with Iran, is busy most of the time with negotiations."

Israeli differences are increasing, especially with the escalation of demands for the necessity of concluding a new prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance, amid accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing the deal “for internal political purposes,” according to opposition leaders.

According to the Al Arabiya TV correspondent, the history of the head of the Mossad is unknown, and it is unclear what kind of files or tasks were assigned to him when he was an element of the agency, given the great secrecy surrounding the Mossad leaders and officers within it.

Darawsheh also points out that all that is known about Barnea is that he was previously deputy head of Mossad, and it is not known which files he handled, and whether they were related to the Palestinians or the Arabs, but it is clear that from 2002 until today, Mossad’s focus has been primarily on the Iranian nuclear file.

Clash with netanyahu

The correspondent explains that the demand to dismiss the head of the Mossad and appoint another person to manage the negotiations comes in this context due to the lack of experience in the nature of his previous work.

He points out that there are other personal reasons, as the head of Mossad has been described in recent months as the person closest to Netanyahu within the Israeli negotiating delegation, more so than the head of the Shin Bet and the representative of the Israeli army. Those calling for his dismissal believe that changing him would lead any new person into a clash with Netanyahu.

However, the appointment decision remains in the hands of the Prime Minister, and he may choose someone more closely associated with him to take on this file.

Security officials, the opposition and the families of Israeli prisoners accuse Netanyahu of obstructing an agreement for fear of collapsing his government and losing his position, as far-right ministers threaten to withdraw from it and bring it down if it accepts an agreement to end the war.