Former finance minister Dan Meridor attacked Prime Minister Netanyahufor his treatment of former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. “I recall that approximately a year after I was appointed minister of finance in Netanyahu’s first government, I also found myself without a job. It appears that this is a pattern and behavioral sequence,” said Meridor.
Meridor also discussed the growing extremism in Likud, which Ya’alon alluded to in his resignation speech: “You basically don’t see anyone who is doing something in the leadership to stop (it). This is a serious process that needs to be stopped. It is shame that when someone tries to stop it, he finds himself on the other side, while the others are becoming more powerful.”
- He added, “(Ya’alon) was ready to look reality in the eyes directly and understand these phenomena. He tried to stop (it) and to lead and not be lead by polls and coalitions.”
Member of Knesset Oren Hazan of Likud spoke about Ya’alon’s resignation and its implications for Likud: “I am not celebrating his departure; I am sorry for him. There have been headlines saying that this will break up Likud, but I think that it will not break up the party because the Likud is a strong and stable party with roots. Many good people have left this party.”
Nonetheless, Hazan did not mince his words about Ya’alon’s conduct as defense minister. He said, “Calling on senior officers to criticize the political echelon, while building his own policies, is no less than a coup d’état. I called for (his) replacement many times after he deviated from Likud’s path, led a (campaign) for a risky (settlement) freeze, and returned terrorist bodies against the position of the prime minister. We legislate laws in the Knesset and in practice, he carries out our decisions.”