Zionist Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced he would quit politics after a new government takes office after general elections next January.

Zionist Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced he would quit politics after a new government takes office after general elections next January.

In a press conference at the defense ministry in Tel Aviv, Barak, 70, announced his surprise decision saying he would step down as defense minister when the new government takes office after general elections on January 22.

"I have decided to resign from political life and not participate in the upcoming Knesset elections," he said.
"I will finish my duties as defense minister with the formation of the next government in three months," Brak added, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family.

For his art, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he respected Barak's, a statement from his office said.
"PM Netanyahu respects DM Barak's decision; thanks him for cooperation in government and appreciates his contribution to security of state," his office said on its official Twitter feed.

Barak’s decision comes after a tumultuous couple of years for the former chief of staff.
In January 2011, he resigned from the Labor party where he had spent his entire political life to set up the so-called “Independence party,” which he quickly led into Netanyahu's rightwing government.