Former Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak has decided to make a political comeback as the battle for the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for September 17, has kicked off, sources close to him said. Barak is studying with a number of prominent Israeli figures the possibility of competing for the chairmanship of the Labor party, and then establishing a broader alliance with other liberal forces or at the top of an independent list. The sources said that over the past two weeks, Barak has spoken with senior officials of the Labor party and other political figures. They added that the head of the current Labor party, Avi Gabbay, was aware of Barak’s efforts. Gabbay was quoted as saying that if Barak decided to run for the party leadership, he would support him, but he was prepared to also announce his candidacy. Barak, 78, has been the Israeli army’s chief of staff. He holds the highest number of military honors in the history of the Israeli army and is considered the most important military figure. But he has been unlucky in politics. He failed in all the political positions he held, from the Ministry of the Interior in Yitzhak Rabin’s government in 1995, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996, to the head of the Labor Party and the premiership from 1999 to 2001. He lost in the extraordinary elections to Ariel Sharon and then became Minister of Security in the government of Ehud Olmert and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu from 2007 until 2013. Labor Party members consider that Barak had betrayed them, and contributed to destroying the party, which was the founder of the Zionist movement. But Barak has regained some of his popularity in recent years, becoming the most important opposition figure, who has persistently spoken against Netanyahu’s policies. Many believe that his return to politics would allow him to form a serious alliance that, along with the “generals’ party”, could defeat Netanyahu.