With public opinion swinging against Israel's attacks on Gaza, it only has a few weeks left to eliminate Hamas, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about a "long and difficult war" looming, according to former leader Ehud Barak.

"You can see the window is closing," Barak, a former prime minister and chief of the Israeli Defense Forces, told Politico. "It's clear we are heading towards friction with the Americans about the offensive. America cannot dictate to Israel what to do. But we cannot ignore them."

This means Israel will "have to come to terms with the American demands within the next two or three weeks," Barak, the prime minister from 1999-2001, added.

Barak pointed out that U.S. rhetoric has shifted in recent days as calls for a humanitarian pause in the war are growing and the sympathy Israel generated after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack diminishes.

But even with his comments about Israel having only a few weeks to defeat Hamas, Barak said it would take months or up to a year to remove Hamas.

The civilian death toll in Gaza is growing though, and there are fears that Israel's campaign will bring about a more broad, catastrophic regional war.

Further, Western nations are concerned about their citizens being among the hostages Hamas took in their attack, he said.

"Listen to the public tone — and behind doors, it is a little bit more explicit," he said. "We are losing public opinion in Europe and in a week or two we'll start to lose governments in Europe. And after another week the friction with the Americans will emerge to the surface."

President Joe Biden last week called for a humanitarian pause, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week pushed Biden's cash with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, telling them the protection of Gaza civilians should be prioritized.

Netanyahu has rejected Blinken's efforts, but Barak said he does not think the Israeli war cabinet will be able to reject the calls from the White House and European leaders for much longer.

Still, Barak said Israel was right with its call to eradicate Hamas in Gaza after the terror attacks.

"The shock of the attack was huge," he said. "This was an unprecedented event in our history, and it was immediately clear that there had to be a tough response, not in order to take revenge, but to make sure that it cannot happen ever again."

Even if Israel is not able to fully eliminate Hamas, Israel is inflicting severe damage on the Palestinian militants, who are backed by Iran, and it will be important to keep the terrorist group from returning, but a multinational Arab force could keep that from happening, said Barak.

"It is far from being inconceivable that, backed by the Arab League and United Nations Security Council, a multinational Arab force could be mustered, with some symbolic units from non-Arab countries included," he said. "They could stay there for three to six months to help the Palestinian Authority to take over properly."

But that may not happen easily.

Barak, as Israeli defense minister in 2008-2009, spoke with Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak about the possibility of a coalition stepping in to administer the Gaza Strip, but Mubarak "displayed his hands and said 'I will never, ever, put my hands back in the Gaza.'"

Abbas also dismissed the idea, telling Barak he would not return to Gaza while being supported by Israel.

However, with Israel, Egypt, and Jordan having deepened their cooperation against terrorism, and Israel signing normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Barak said Arab leaders need to tell their countries that times are changing.

However, he pointed out that Israel shouldn't rush into reviving negotiations over a two-state solution, as returning to such talks as he had with former President of the State of Palestine Yasser Arafat may not be possible for a long time.

"It won't happen quickly, and it will take time," he said. "Trust on all sides has gone – the distrust has only deepened."

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