PM on Ya'alon: Defense portfolio was not taken from him because of 'a crisis of faith'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon's decision to resign from the government and from the Knesset and to take a break from political life on Friday afternoon.

"I'm sorry about Bogie Ya'alon's decision. I think that he could have continued to be a full partner in the leadership of the country in the role of minister of foreign affairs," Netanyahu said.

He added, "The change in portfolio allocations did not come from a crisis of faith between us; it came from the need to widen the government, and that was to bring stability to the State of Israel the large challenges we are facing."