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| Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns | Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| JERUSALEM — The Israeli defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, announced on Friday that he was resigning, an abrupt move that comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly conducts negotiations with a far-right party to join his government. | JERUSALEM — The Israeli defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, announced on Friday that he was resigning, an abrupt move that comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly conducts negotiations with a far-right party to join his government. |
| As part of those negotiations, Mr. Netanyahu is believed to have offered the position of defense minister to Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party. | As part of those negotiations, Mr. Netanyahu is believed to have offered the position of defense minister to Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party. |
| There had been speculation that Mr. Yaalon, who will also be leaving Parliament, would be offered the post of foreign minister as a sort of consolation prize, but his announcement, first posted on Facebook and then on Twitter, puts an end to that possibility. | There had been speculation that Mr. Yaalon, who will also be leaving Parliament, would be offered the post of foreign minister as a sort of consolation prize, but his announcement, first posted on Facebook and then on Twitter, puts an end to that possibility. |
| “This morning I informed the prime minister that following his management in the latest developments, and in light of my lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking time out from political life,” he wrote on his Facebook page. | “This morning I informed the prime minister that following his management in the latest developments, and in light of my lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset and taking time out from political life,” he wrote on his Facebook page. |
| Speaking at a news conference later, Mr. Yaalon said he would be taking a break but planned to return to political life, including a run for state leadership. | |
| Long a trusted figure in the Likud party, Mr. Yaalon was harshly criticized recently by the right wing for comments he made about the military. | Long a trusted figure in the Likud party, Mr. Yaalon was harshly criticized recently by the right wing for comments he made about the military. |
| After divisive statements by Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, his deputy chief of staff, on a day commemorating victims of the Holocaust, Mr. Yaalon said that senior army officers should be able to express their views. | After divisive statements by Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, his deputy chief of staff, on a day commemorating victims of the Holocaust, Mr. Yaalon said that senior army officers should be able to express their views. |
| General Golan came under fire after he compared recent trends in Israel to those of Nazi-era Germany, and Mr. Yaalon said he viewed complaints about the comments as a disturbing political effort to damage the military’s standing. | General Golan came under fire after he compared recent trends in Israel to those of Nazi-era Germany, and Mr. Yaalon said he viewed complaints about the comments as a disturbing political effort to damage the military’s standing. |
| After an Israeli soldier shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron, Mr. Yaalon took an immediate stand, saying that the soldier should be brought to justice if he violated military code. | After an Israeli soldier shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron, Mr. Yaalon took an immediate stand, saying that the soldier should be brought to justice if he violated military code. |
| Many in the Israeli public viewed that statement as a criticism of the military, one of the nation’s most hallowed institutions, at a time it has been grappling with a wave of stabbings and other violence by Palestinians. | Many in the Israeli public viewed that statement as a criticism of the military, one of the nation’s most hallowed institutions, at a time it has been grappling with a wave of stabbings and other violence by Palestinians. |
| David Keyes, foreign media adviser to the prime minister, said that Mr. Netanyahu did not have an immediate comment. | |
| Israeli radio said the minister of immigration and absorption, Zeev Elkin, a member of Likud, had called on Mr. Yaalon to reconsider his resignation. | Israeli radio said the minister of immigration and absorption, Zeev Elkin, a member of Likud, had called on Mr. Yaalon to reconsider his resignation. |
| Mr. Elkin said that Mr. Yaalon’s place was in Likud and that the prime minster’s moves should not be considered insulting to him. | Mr. Elkin said that Mr. Yaalon’s place was in Likud and that the prime minster’s moves should not be considered insulting to him. |
| He added that political considerations had forced Mr. Netanyahu to make changes in the coalition government, and that Mr. Yaalon could have remained in another capacity. | He added that political considerations had forced Mr. Netanyahu to make changes in the coalition government, and that Mr. Yaalon could have remained in another capacity. |
| The minister for social equality, Gila Gamliel, also a Likud member, also expressed regret about Mr. Yaalon’s decision, calling his resignation a huge loss for the party. | The minister for social equality, Gila Gamliel, also a Likud member, also expressed regret about Mr. Yaalon’s decision, calling his resignation a huge loss for the party. |
| The resignation caps weeks of confusing negotiations by Mr. Netanyahu, who is seeking to increase the government’s majority in Parliament, which it holds by only one seat. | The resignation caps weeks of confusing negotiations by Mr. Netanyahu, who is seeking to increase the government’s majority in Parliament, which it holds by only one seat. |
| For weeks, Mr. Netanyahu negotiated with a leader from the other side of the political spectrum, Isaac Herzog, head of the Zionist Union. After those talks collapsed, Mr. Netanyahu began negotiations with Mr. Leiberman. | For weeks, Mr. Netanyahu negotiated with a leader from the other side of the political spectrum, Isaac Herzog, head of the Zionist Union. After those talks collapsed, Mr. Netanyahu began negotiations with Mr. Leiberman. |
| “In Israel, we play hardball politics,” said Gadi Wolfsfeld, a professor of political communications at the Interdisciplinary Center, a private college north of Tel Aviv, who is a frequent critic of Mr. Netanyahu. “On the other hand, even on the scale of hardball, cynical politics, this was a shocker.” | “In Israel, we play hardball politics,” said Gadi Wolfsfeld, a professor of political communications at the Interdisciplinary Center, a private college north of Tel Aviv, who is a frequent critic of Mr. Netanyahu. “On the other hand, even on the scale of hardball, cynical politics, this was a shocker.” |
| Mr. Yaalon, who has had long-running tensions with Mr. Netanyahu, could be biding his time to start a new party, Mr. Wolfsfeld said. | Mr. Yaalon, who has had long-running tensions with Mr. Netanyahu, could be biding his time to start a new party, Mr. Wolfsfeld said. |
| “Certainly the other possibility is that he’s had it — with the intrigues, the backstabbing, the manipulations of politics,” he said. | “Certainly the other possibility is that he’s had it — with the intrigues, the backstabbing, the manipulations of politics,” he said. |
| “Unfortunately, some of the best just say it’s just too much,” Mr. Wolfsfeld added. “My guess is that he’s going to keep his cards close to his chest.” | “Unfortunately, some of the best just say it’s just too much,” Mr. Wolfsfeld added. “My guess is that he’s going to keep his cards close to his chest.” |