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Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) announced on Friday morning that he is quitting politics, following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to hand his portfolio over to Yisrael Beytenu head MK Avigdor Liberman so as to bring his party into the coalition. "This morning I let the Prime Minister know that due to his conduct and recent developments, and due to a lack of confidence in him, I am resigning from the government and from the Knesset and taking a timeout from political life," said Ya'alon. Ya'alon's resignation is particularly dramatic as Liberman has not yet formally been given his portfolio...

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon weighed in on Memorial Day, negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the possibility of a unity government on Tuesday, in a special interview with Army Radio. "The bravery of bereaved families is invisible but very significant," Ya'alon stated. "They overcome the pain, overcome the hole in their lives. This is true heroism." Ya'alon also addressed rumors of a unity government, .... Those challenges include pressure from Paris to begin negotiations with the PA, which he confirmed have failed before due to the PA refusing to cooperate. "They slammed the door to President [Barack] Obama and...

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon slammed the United States on Thursday after a State Department spokesperson accused Israel of using "excessive force" when subduing Arab terrorists. While addressing ongoing Arab terror in Israel on Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby asserted that "without qualifying each and every one of them, we’ve certainly seen some reports of security activity that could indicate the potential use of excessive force." In an interview with Army Radio, Yaalon blasted Kirby's contention, calling it utter nonsense. "We are using excessive force?" the Defense Minister asked incredulously. "If someone is wielding a knife and killing people, [then...

"On the northern border, in Syria, there has been unrest for four years now,” said Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon Tuesday. “Despite this, we have been able to keep this threat away from the residents of the Golan Heights and the North. "We have been following a very clear policy,” he added. “In this matter, we are intolerant toward any breach of our sovereignty. There are other developments in Syria, as well, like the Russian presence and the Iranian presence. That is in northern Syria. But we made clear to the Russians that we have no intention of abandoning our ability...

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) encouraged constant vigilance on Wednesday, during a visit to the "Jordan Lions" Brigade in the Jordan Valley. "The result in every encounter with terrorists should be like this: that you remain standing while the terrorist is on the ground," he stated. "You should be aware that someone is looking at you and looking for the weak spot." Ya'alon also addressed the waves of terror rippling through Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. "In Judea and Samaria, we are going through a time of multiple incidents," he said. "The trick is not to become a target by terror...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited the Hermon Division of the IDF on Wednesday, following last week’s antitank missile attack from Hezbollah in the nearby Har Dov area, which killed two IDF soldiers. During the visit, Netanyahu and Ya’alon briefed Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Yair Golan, and Northern Command Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi, and met with mayors from the region. “I came here with the defense minister and army commanders, to see the IDF’s preparedness against emerging threats against us in Golan Heights,” Netanyahu stated. “For some time, Iran has been trying to open...

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon criticized Economic Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) on Saturday night, after the latter issued a fiery response to the words of US Secretary of State John Kerry Friday linking peace talks with ISIS. According to Ya'alon, Bennett's criticism lacks respect for the financial and diplomatic support the US has provided for Israel's right to self-defense against Hamas terrorism. "Relations between the United States and Israel are based on shared interests and values​​, and a dispute or other comments should not cast a shadow over that," Ya'alon stated. "The United States supports Israel in a variety of...

The United States is dissatisfied with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s clarification that he had not meant to insult the U.S. "We still have remaining concerns about Ya'alon's pattern of behavior," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday. The United States harshly criticized Ya’alon this week, over his remarks that the United States “shows weakness” in various arenas around the world, including Ukraine, and has a “soft” approach over Iran’s nuclear program. In fact, Secretary of State John Kerry personally protested to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over Ya'alon's strong criticism which the U.S. saw as trying to hurt U.S.-Israel...

March 19, 2014, 03:43 pm Kerry phones Netanyahu to complain about insults By Rebecca Shabad Secretary of State John Kerry called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday morning to protest insults the Israeli defense minister directed at the Obama administration this week, the State Department said. In a speech at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Moshe Ya’alon criticized President Obama for having a weak foreign policy, and said Israel could no longer rely on the U.S. to lead nuclear negotiations with Iran. “Secretary Kerry spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning. And he protested to him his concerns about these...

In a rare move, Secretary of State John Kerry protested to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday over Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's strong criticism of US foreign policy, according to AFP. Ya'alon slammed the US and the West on Tuesday for its "soft" approach toward the possibility of a nuclear Iran. "Everyone knows Iran is lying," Ya'alon stated. "But the pampered West is satisfied with postponing conflict [with Iran over the nuclear program]." Ya'alon's comments made headlines in Israeli media Tuesday evening over his perceived change of heart regarding the Iran issue - and apparently have also drawn the...

The Obama administration on Wednesday vented its anger at the Israeli defense minister’s public criticism of the U.S. and his personal insults of Secretary of State John Kerry. In a new sign of tension between top officials of the two allies as Washington tries to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program, Kerry called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest recent remarks by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. Yaalon this week accused the Obama administration of being weak on Iran and questioned its commitment to Israel’s security. Previously, Yaalon has criticized Kerry personally for...

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israel cannot depend on the U.S. to take the lead against the Iranian nuclear program, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday. His remarks came just as the P5+1 (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany) are about to begin the next round of talks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The U.S. should be leading the campaign against Iran, Ya'alon said, but instead it's making deals with it. Israel will do what it must to defend itself. "We thought that the one who needs to lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S.," the defense minister said during...

Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) fired back at US pressure Wednesday, maintaining that there should have been no need for Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon to apologize for his harsh criticism of US Secretary of State John Kerry, in which Ya'alon referred to Kerry as "obsessive and messianic"... "I congratulate the Defense Minister on his courage; what he said was right." Hotovely stated, in an interview with Arutz Sheva. "The American stance is disconnected from the reality of the situation in the Middle East. They are trying to force a solution on us which is unacceptable to most members of...

  Update: it was inevitable. Israel has apologized:  Barak Ravid@BarakRavid Follow BREAKING: Israel MoD Yaalon apologizes for his statements against SecState Kerry 1:28 PM - 14 Jan 2014   Just when you thought US foreign policy under John Kerry couldn't plumb new lows, here comes Israel, mocking... John Kerry.   Richard Engel        ✔ @RichardEngel Follow Yaalon quoted by "Yediot Aharonot" saying: only thing that could "save" #Israel is for Kerry to win Nobel Peace Prize and "leave us alone." But it wasn't Israel's mocking of Kerry that was embarrassing: after Syria, Israel is hardly a big fan of Hillary's replacement who...

The bickering continues between the White House and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, as a Channel 2 report surfaces Tuesday states that Washington expects Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn Yaalon's criticism. A "senior source" from Washington allegedly told the news outlet that Netanyahu is expected to reject Yaalon's comments, which ripped apart the security plan US Secretary of State John Kerry has laid out for the Jordan Valley. Both the plan and the US itself are widely held, by analysts and the public alike, to be distant from the reality of Israel's security needs and the heart of the...

Iran is using diplomatic pouches to smuggle weapons into and out of the country, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Monday. “The Iranians are taking advantage of diplomatic mail in order to transfer these items,” Yaalon told Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, who is visiting Israel. “They are taking advantage of the drug smuggling routes from South America into the United States in order to move weapons there,” he said. Iran, said Yaalon, was pulling out all stops in order to export its Shi'ite Islamic revolution to the West, preparing communities of Shi'ite Muslims for the day they must help Iran...

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Saturday that Israel had no partner for peace in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Speaking at the Israel Business Conference in Tel Aviv, Ya’alon said that there will be not a peace partner so long as the PA continues to educate its children to hate Israel. "As someone who supported the Oslo Accords, I have learned to understand that there is no partner for two states for two peoples on the other side,” he said. “There isn’t, nor has there been since the dawn of Zionism, a leadership on the other side that is willing to...

Photo credit Israel Ministry of Defense Visiting US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey met with top Israeli military brass on Wednesday to discuss regional cooperation and the strengthening of military ties between Israel and the US. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon stressed the central role that Iran was playing in current events and the need for Israel to remain vigilant. “The instability in the Middle East is due, in part, to the Iranian regime, which is involved in every conflict in the area,” he said. “We also need to be prepared for a prolonged conflict...

Despite the relative quiet in northern Israel in recent years, the threat posed by Hizbullah remains, Minister Yaalon said Wednesday evening. Yaalon spoke at a memorial for the 73 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash over Kibbutz Dafna 16 years ago. “The 73 fallen sons embody the complexity of our lives here,” Yaalon said, “and our struggle, which, sadly, is not yet over.” “We are a people that loves peace,” he continued. “That is how we raise our sons and daughters.” Addressing bereaved families at the event, he said, “That is how you raised your children who fell while on...

Minister Moshe Yaalon (Likud) said Sunday that Israel does not intend to maintain restraint in the face of the intense rocket attacks from Gaza. "If the terror organizations do not cease their fire we will be prepared to toughen our response as much as necessary, until they say 'enough!'," he said. "There is a complicated war here, and in the end we will finish it," he said. "This is not a one-off move. But we will put an end to it. We do not intend to maintain restraint because the situation is unbearable for us." "We will bring quiet to...