As Yadlin draws closer to Labor Party, Mofaz backs off

Amid reports that Labor-Hatnua was close to drafting a former general for its Knesset slate, Kadima party chairman Shaul Mofaz announced on Monday that he would not be joining the center-left list ahead of the coming national elections.

Mofaz, who has in the past served as defense minister after an army career that culminated in a stint as IDF chief of staff, said in a short statement that he had “seriously” considered the matter but was secure in his decision.

He had been in negotiations to join the Labor Party, whose leader, Isaac Herzog, has been searching for an individual with a strong military background to serve as the party’s candidate for defense minister.

Mofaz’s announcement came as the Hebrew news site Ynet reported that former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin was close to running for a Knesset seat with the Labor-Hatnua list, also known as the Zionist Camp. Yadlin confirmed to Army Radio on Monday afternoon that he was in talks with Herzog and Tzipi Livni, the co-leader of the list, although he refused to elaborate on where the negotiations stood.

“At the moment I am the head of the Institute for National Security Studies. That is my title and that is where I am going to work this morning,” Yadlin said.

Many parties strive to field at least one candidate who possesses a rich history in the defense establishment in order to reassure voters that Israel’s security is high on their list of priorities.

In the event that Labor-Hatnua wins the election, whoever assumes the role of the list’s defense figure will likely be tapped as defense minister, assuming that portfolio isn’t awarded to another party during coalition negotiations.

Mofaz, whose current Kadima party is not projected to make it into the Knesset, will decide his next move in the coming days. Election lists must be submitted by the end of the month ahead of the March 17 vote.

Like Mofaz, former chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi announced over the weekend that he would not be joining the Labor list, which had also reportedly courted him as a possible candidate.

Ashkenazi said he would not launch a political career until his name was cleared in an ongoing police investigation into his alleged involvement in a high-level scandal between 2009 and 2011. After probing the case for a year and a half, police special investigative unit Lahav 433 determined last September that there was sufficient evidence to indict Ashkenazi on charges of breach of trust and divulging classified information to journalists.