Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Photo: Mueller / MSC via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has decided to run separately from Yesh Atid in the next election, and his Telem Party will attempt an independent bid, according to multiple media reports on Saturday.

Telem and Yesh Atid were original members of Blue and White, but broke with it when leader Benny Gantz decided to join Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Yesh Atid chairman and opposition leader Yair Lapid confirmed that Ya’alon would not be running with his party, tweeting: “I value and respect [him] very much and wish him luck.”

It is unclear whether Telem would be able to pass the four-seat electoral threshold independently. During the 2020 elections, a similar bid was projected to fail.