Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Saturday announced plans to form a new political party, saying he will vie for the position of prime minister in the next general elections, currently scheduled for 2019. "I care about this country and our children and grandchildren, and I'm forming a political force that would vie for the national leadership in the next elections," he said in a town hall-style event in Tel Aviv. Ya'alon said he has formed an association called "alternative leadership," saying he was "holding three parlor meetings a week. I've learned that having the media as a broker [of information], especially when you don't have your own newspaper or television station, doesn't do you any good." Still, the former defense minister did not rule out the possibility that his future party may join forces with Yesh Atid. "I don't like the segmentation into small parties. Right now, I'm building my political power and once it's relevant I would like to see various forces come together," he said. "Other political forces will emerge before the elections," he forecast. Commenting on State Comptroller Yosef Shapira's report on Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip in 2014, which found fault in the military's conduct as well as in the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet's decision-making process ahead of and during the campaign, Ya'alon said that "no military exercise or campaign is free of errors or the need to draw conclusions. "The IDF and I as defense minister carried out investigations immediately following the campaign. The things that needed to be implemented have been implemented from that moment on. "The comptroller reviewed Operation Protective Edge through two questions, the terror tunnels and cabinet meetings. The important decisions were presented to the cabinet, including the proposed for a cease-fire, but the campaign itself was managed via discussions between the prime minister, defense minister and the General Staff, in the pit [the underground war room at the IDF's headquarters in Tel Aviv] and on the ground." The cabinet, he explained, is "driven by politics. I've never talked politics in this holy of holies. I've seen my share of cabinets, and I miss people like [Likud MK] Benny Begin and [former Likud minister] Dan Meridor. They are the kind of people the prime minister could rely on not to be politically driven or leaking information to the media." Ya'alon leveled criticism at the cabinet ministers' conduct during the Gaza campaign: "The cabinet that oversaw Operation Protective Edge was full of people trying to topple the prime minister, defense minister and chief of staff. The comments they made were made for the record, for the comptroller's report and for a commission of inquiry. "The comptroller's report is the loudspeaker for those who conducted themselves in that manner -- not for those who acted responsibly and prevented a bigger catastrophe," he said, referring to himself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. Ya'alon said he supported subjecting Diplomatic-Security Cabinet ministers to polygraph tests, saying, "If you can't hold a practical discussion without someone trying to mark political gains, like they did in Operation Protective Edge, including when people say one thing behind closed doors and another in public, then they [the ministers] should be polygraphed over the leaks."
Ex-defense minister forms new party, says will vie for premiership
"I care about this country and our children and grandchildren, and I'm forming a political force that would vie for the national leadership in the next elections," Moshe Ya'alon declares • "Other political forces will emerge before elections," he says.
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