Earlier, Ya’alon, 65, wrote on his Facebook account “I notified the prime minister this morning that following his conduct in the latest developments and in view of the lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking time out from political life”.
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“To my great regret, I have recently found myself in hard disputes over matters of principle and professionalism with the prime minister, a number of cabinet members and some lawmakers”, outgoing Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said, reading, grim-faced, from a statement at his Tel Aviv office.
“To my great regret extremist and risky elements and unsafe elements have overrun Israel as well as the Likud party”, he added, hinting he might quit the ruling party.
“There has been a hostile takeover of the leadership by elements foreign to the spirit of the state of Israel and to the spirit of the military”, he said in an interview with Channel 10 TV.
Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon gives a statement to the press at the Kirya Army base in Tel Aviv, Israel May 20, 2016. “It emerged from the need to widen the government in order to bring stability to the State of Israel as it faces significant challenges before it”.
Netanyahu said he regretted Yaalon’s decision and that he would have preferred him to stay on as foreign minister.
But the reported newcomer to the defence post is inexperienced militarily and has adopted a hardline stance towards the Palestinians.
Yaalon’s surprise resignation comes two days after former foreign minister Lieberman said he would be open to bringing his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party into Netanyahu’s coalition if a number of conditions were met, including being named defence minister.
Netanyahu attempted to alleviate the situation by offering Yaalon the foreign minister position, which Netanyhu holds in addition to the office of prime minister.
He became a national figure in 1996 as a top aide to Netanyahu in a previous term as prime minister.
Yet despite his rhetoric, Lieberman has shown signs of pragmatism.
To illustrate his point, Barak referred to legislation promoted by members of the coalition, including the law to lift the parliamentary immunity of Knesset members who allegedly support terrorism and a bill to impose Israeli law on Israelis living in the West Bank. Along with military policy, the Defence Ministry handles delicate security issues with allies, some of whom Lieberman has antagonized. In another flap, he said Egypt’s then-president, Hosni Mubarak, could “go to hell”.
Yehuda Glick, a Temple Mount activist and Likud party member, is set to take Ya’alon’s place in the Knesset.
The 50-year-old US-born rabbi is an outspoken campaigner for a change to rules governing Jerusalem’s most sensitive site, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, to allow Jews to pray as well as visit. Tensions erupted in September and months of bloodshed followed with dozens of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security personnel. “Such a decision is extremely risky – Liberman, who has called for the beheading of Palestinians and for their transfer outside the state of Israel, is a serious threat to peace and stability, and his appointment will generate a culture of lawlessness, extremism, violence, and hate in Israel”.
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Glick survived an attempt on his life in 2014 when he was shot several times by a Palestinian.
