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Former Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Dies at 80

Former Israeli defense minister and Labor Party stalwart Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who died Sunday at the age of 80 due to health complications, was remembered by former Israeli President Shimon Peres as a “courageous commander” who was greatly concerned with the welfare of the State of Israel.

Ben-Eliezer, also known by his nickname Fuad, was born in 1936 in southern Iraq. His family immigrated to Israel in 1950 when he was 14 years old, and he was recruited into the Golani infantry brigade four years later. While in the IDF, he underwent training to become an officer and served as one in the Six-Day War in 1967. During the Yom Kippur war in 1973, Ben-Eliezer served as a deputy unit commander and subsequently rose to become divisional commander in the Lebanon area. He was wounded seven times during his service.

From 1978 to 1982, he commanded the Judea and Samaria division with the rank of brigadier general. After he retired from the army in 1984, Ben-Eliezer began his political career with the Yachad Party, which merged with the Labor Party shortly after. He was appointed to serve as minister of construction and housing in 1992 by Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, then as communications minister and deputy prime minister in Ehud Barak’s administration in 1999.

One of Ben-Eliezer’s most notable achievements as a public servant came in 2001, when he was appointed minister of defense by Ariel Sharon and oversaw Operation Defensive Shield, launched in March 2002 after Palestinian terrorists carried out 15 separate suicide bombing attacks against Israelis in a single month. The immediate aftermath of the campaign was a 46 percent decrease in suicide bombings attacks, and a 70 percent drop by the second half of the year.

A Jerusalem Post retrospective of his life and career asserted that together, Ben-Eliezer and Sharon “inspired an atmosphere of unity in the public, a sense of purpose among politicians and a fighting spirit among the troops” that was essential to defeating the terrorism of the second intifada. Ben-Eliezer also backed the initiative to build a security fence along the border of the West Bank, which was linked to a near-total halt in terrorist infiltration in the areas where it was constructed. Nonetheless, he was also a strong advocate for reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians. ”The main goal is to contain the terror, and by that, to open the gate to a peace negotiation,” he said in 2002.

Ben-Eliezer eventually ran for president in 2014, but his candidacy was derailed by allegations of corruption. The trial against him was cancelled shortly before his death.

Former President Peres described his late colleague as “a courageous commander in the IDF, a warm person who loves people, whose heart was deep in the land and in the fate of our people.” He expressed sympathy “to the many loyal friends who followed him through thick and thin throughout the years.”

Current President Reuven Rivlin similarly called Ben-Eliezer “a man of many accomplishments who did much for the nation, devoted his life to its defense and security.” Rivlin added that as a public servant, Ben-Eliezer “applied himself to his work with great devotion” to secure Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to Ben-Eliezer’s family upon his passing, saying, “Fouad served the State of Israel for decades as a fighter, commander, public servant and senior government minister. I knew him and I esteemed his contribution and his special personality. In my many conversations with him, Fouad expressed his concern for – and commitment to – the future of the State of Israel that he loved so much. May his memory be blessed.”

[Photo: The Israel Project ]