JERUSALEM, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Israel’s military withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 because its security buffer zone caused more problems than it fixed, said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Barak issued that opinion in testimony published Monday from the Winograd Committee investigating Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 2006, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Barak’s critics have charged Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 was premature and allowed Hezbollah to retrench near the shared border, The Post reported.

Barak, in his testimony, disagreed saying, “The paradox of the buffer zone, which was intended to protect the residents of northern Israel, was that we stayed so long that (the zone) became a problem rather than a solution."

Barak also had veiled criticism for former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, saying Israel should not have started a war unless it intended to “hit them hard” and end it quickly, The Post reported.