Barak sworn in as Israel's new defence minister

Jerusalem, June 19: Former prime minister Ehud Barak was sworn in as Israel's defence minister today in a cabinet shakeup rushed through in response to violence in Gaza.

Barak received a vote of approval from parliament to replace Amir Peretz, who lost to Barak in last week's Labour Party leadership election.

Labour is the main coalition partner in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government.

Barak, a decorated former commando and armed forces chief, built his comeback on Labour chagrin at the way Olmert and Peretz, who both lack military pedigrees, handled last year's Lebanon war.

Barak won the premiership in a landslide 1999 election victory but resigned in late 2000 after failing to rein in a Palestinian uprising that erupted after peace talks under his stewardship failed.

He lost a 2001 election to Ariel Sharon who was succeeded by Olmert in 2006 when he fell into a coma after a stroke.

As a soldier Barak was a commando involved in storming a Belgian hijacked jet at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport to rescue hostages in 1972, and disguised as a woman for a mission in Beirut to kill Palestinian militants in 1976.

Reuters>