BREAKING NEWS

MK Hazan: The public has lost confidence in Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon

MK Oren Hazan (Likud) on Saturday said that the Israeli public has lost confidence in Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's ability to manage his office in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
Oren's comments are the latest in a line of attacks emanating from the Right-flank of the Likud party which have taken exception to recent statements the defense minister made in regards to a soldier who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant in Hebron last month.
"[Ya'alon]has chosen to set out on a campaign to rattle and condemn the soldier in Hebron... a hysterical and frightening campaign which he has painted himself as an underdog," Hazan said.
"This is cynical spin designed to distract those looking for the truth and away from his ill-fated public criticism which indicates that the public has lost confidence in the defense minister's ability to manage his office," the statement added.
Ya'alon has been the target of scathing public attacks in recent days after harshly criticizing a soldier who shot and killed a "neutralized" Palestinian assailant in Hebron over two weeks ago.
 
“Those who back the soldier don’t back our laws and values,” Ya’alon said during a speech on April 6 with high school students from the Jordan valley settlement of Ma’aleh Ephraim. 
In a social media post uploaded to Facebook Friday, Ya'alon said that "extremist fringe elements in Israel" have sought to paint me as a hater of Israel, and now have resorted to "inciting against me."
 
"I am not going to bend or fold in order to fit their [extremist] image of the State of Israel or Israeli society." Ya'alon added. "We must adhere to the rule of law and respect the sanctity of life and struggle against violence and racism."