According to TPS, access to Sunday’s farewell ceremony for departing Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has been revoked from Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) and his staff, who were told they had to leave the IDF Kirya compound in Tel Aviv by 4:30 PM Sunday.
According to Rabbi Ben-Dahan, Ya’alon’s chief of staff informed Ben-Dahan’s staff, seven employees altogether, that their entry permits would be revoked as of 4:30 PM. Ben-Dahan noted that, according to the law, when a minister resigns, his or her deputies automatically lose their positions as well, but the same does not hold for their entry permits. Someone in Ya’alon’s office had to go out of their way to revoke those.
Ben-Dahan’s position as Deputy Defense Minister is anchored in Habayit Hayehudi’s coalition agreement with PM Netanyahu, and it is expected that once the new defense minister is sworn in, presumably this Tuesday, Ben-Dahan will receive his commission back. So someone under Ya’alon wanted to make sure the Deputy and his staff not be allowed in between ministers.
Petty? You bet. Ya’alon maintained a cool relationship with Ben-Dahan throughout the current coalition term, and would not permit him to run the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), as was his assignment in the coalition agreement. According to TPS, Ya’alon’s people also personally harassed Ben-Dahan’s staff whenever they could.
UPDATE: Prime Minister Netanyahu has stepped in, according to an A7 report, and cancelled the eviction orders against Deputy Minister Dahan and his staff.
