Mr Yaalon, 65, confirmed that his break from politics would be temporary and defended his record at the press conference this morning.
“In every one of my actions and decisions I weighed the safety of Israel and the Israeli people as well as the well-being of the nation above all else,” he said.
“Much to my dismay, recently I have found myself in conflicts of professional and ethical natures with the prime minister as well as with a number of ministers of Knesset.”
In a message posted on Facebook and Twitter this morning, Mr Yaalon cited his “lack of trust” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his decision to leave the government.
His Knesset space will be taken by Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a controversial activist who was the subject of an attempted assassination in 2014 by an Islamic terrorist over his campaign to expand Jewish access to the Temple Mount.
According to Haaretz, Mr Glick said in a radio interview this morning: “I regret the departure of Yaalon. He is a moral man and an asset to the people of Israel and the Likud,” Haaretz has reported.
