Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein on Monday night signed off on Minister Yoav Galant’s resignation from Knesset, as he broke away from his Kulanu party to shift to Likud, where he will compete in the party’s primaries. The move spells another success for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as Galant is a retired IDF major-general and a former Deputy IDF Chief of Staff, bringing another security expect onboard, replacing former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who resigned over disagreement with PM Netanyahu in 2016.

Galant met with Kulanu party leader Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon prior to leaving, and according to the official statement, his departure from the party follows agreement by Kahlon. Kahlon praised Galant’s accomplishments as a Kulanu party Housing Minister, how he published tenders including the 130,000 affordable housing units priced for young couples, to permit them to purchase their first apartment.

In his letter of resignation, Galant stated that in the past years, he merited serving the people of Israel as a minister, following 35 years in the military. “I view myself continuing to contribute in the sphere in which I spent most of my life, security”, he added.

Galant thanked Kahlon and his colleagues from Kulanu.

PM Netanyahu will poll his cabinet ministers, and he will appoint Galant as Minister of Absorption, thereby permitting him to continue serving on the Political-Security Cabinet.

A day earlier, former Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Dr. Michael Oren, announced he does not plan to run on the Kulanu ticket in the next elections, leaving Kahlon without two key personalities on his roster. MK Rachel Azariya has also announced she is taking leave of Kulanu.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)