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Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Defense Minister, Resigns
(about 9 hours 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 — Israel’s defense minister abruptly announced his resignation on Friday, saying he had lost faith in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was “fearful for Israel’s future.”
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. The minister, Moshe Yaalon, is a senior leader in Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party, and quit amid the prime minister’s political maneuvering to broaden his governing coalition, which has only a one-seat majority in Parliament. The back-room negotiations exploded into public view this week, with Mr. Netanyahu apparently having offered Mr. Yaalon’s job to the ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman, though on Friday the prime minister said he was leaving the door open to make a deal with the center-left Zionist Union.
There had been speculation that Mr. Yaalon, who described himself as “fearful for Israel’s future” and who will also be leaving Parliament, would be offered the post of foreign minister as a sort of consolation prize. His announcement, first posted on Facebook and then on Twitter, puts an end to that possibility. There had been speculation that if Mr. Lieberman joined the government, Mr. Yaalon, who has been a stalwart member of Mr. Netanyahu’s team for years, would be offered the post of foreign minister as a sort of consolation prize. His announcement on Friday, on Facebook and Twitter, put 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,” Mr. Yaalon wrote, using the Hebrew term for Parliament.
The addition of Mr. Lieberman to the government, which has not been announced, would not represent an enormous right-wing shift for Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition. In a news conference later, he said: “I viewed all my positions, both when I was in uniform and as a minister, as a mission, and I was unwilling to sacrifice national needs and the security of Israel’s citizens for the sake of political considerations or personal interest.”
Mr. Yaalon is at the center-right of the political spectrum, and he has served as a bulwark against the most extreme populist sentiments criticizing the military and the Likud coalition. Mr. Netanyahu seemed to confirm that speculation in a statement released on Friday in which he expressed regret over Mr. Yaalon’s departure. Mr. Yaalon “should have continued being a full partner in leadership of this country, as foreign minister,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “The reshuffle of portfolios did not stem from a lack of confidence between us but rather from the need to broaden the government.” Mr. Netanyahu added, “I assume that if Yaalon had not been asked to leave the defense ministry,” the resignation would not have occurred.
The possible change to the government could represent a shift for the voices closest to the prime minister, but it is unclear how much immediate influence the presumptive new defense minister would have on the government. “There are political opportunities, particularly due to certain regional developments, which I personally strive towards continuously,” the prime minister said. “Therefore I took great efforts to have the Zionist Union join the government. Thus I am leaving the door open in the most serious manner for them to join. Such a move would do only good for the State of Israel.”
“I viewed all my positions, both when I was in uniform and as a minister, as a mission, and I was unwilling to sacrifice national needs and the security of Israel’s citizens for the sake of political considerations or personal interest,” Mr. Yaalon said at news conference later on Friday. The addition of Mr. Lieberman to the government — which has been widely reported in the Israeli news media but not officially announced — would further cement the rightist nature of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition.
Mr. Yaalon said he would be taking a break but planned to return to political life, including a run for state leadership. Mr. Yaalon, 65, is at the center-right of the political spectrum, but has served as a bulwark against the most extreme populist sentiments criticizing the military and the Likud coalition, by Mr. Lieberman and others. He said he planned to return to someday political life, including a run for state leadership.
“I fought with all my might against phenomena of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threaten its fortitude, and which are trickling into the I.D.F., that are already hurting it,” he said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “I fought with all my might against phenomena of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society that threaten its fortitude,” he said, adding that these forces “ are trickling into” 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. The contrast in military credentials between Mr. Yaalon and Mr. Lieberman could hardly be more pronounced. Mr. Yaalon, a former chief of staff and career general, led commando units and took part in daring operations. Mr. Lieberman left the military at the rank of corporal. He is known for hard-right positions like demanding the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism and the toppling of Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza.
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. Mr. Yaalon came under fire for quickly condemning the actions of an Israeli soldier who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron. Many Israelis viewed Mr. Yaalon’s immediate statement that the soldier should be brought to justice because he had violated military code as prejudging the case and troops at a time when they face violent attacks by Palestinians.
General Golan came under fire after he compared recent trends in Israel to events in Nazi-era Germany, and Mr. Yaalon said he viewed complaints about the comments as a disturbing political effort to damage the military’s standing. Mr. Netanyahu at first took a similar stand, but he later called the soldier’s father, a move that was seen as offering support.
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 because he had violated military code.
Many in the Israeli public viewed that statement as prejudging the case and not backing up the soldier at a time when the military, one of the nation’s most hallowed institutions, has been grappling with a wave of stabbings and other violence by Palestinians.
Mr. Yaalon’s position reflected that of army chiefs. Mr. Netanyahu at first took a similar stand, but he later called the soldier’s father, a move that was seen as offering support.
“With great sorrow, senior politicians in the country have chosen incitement and divisiveness of the Israeli society instead of unifying and connecting,” Mr. Yaalon said. “It is unacceptable to me that we be divided because of cynicism or craving for control, and I expressed more than once my opinion on the matter — from a position of sincere worry for the future of Israeli society and future generations.”“With great sorrow, senior politicians in the country have chosen incitement and divisiveness of the Israeli society instead of unifying and connecting,” Mr. Yaalon said. “It is unacceptable to me that we be divided because of cynicism or craving for control, and I expressed more than once my opinion on the matter — from a position of sincere worry for the future of Israeli society and future generations.”
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, and some analysts noted that Mr. Yaalon has had long-running tensions with the prime minister and could be biding his time to start a new party.
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. Lieberman. “Certainly the other possibility is that he’s had it — with the intrigues, the backstabbing, the manipulations of 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.
“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,” Mr. Wolfsfeld said. “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.
“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.”