Israeli territorial withdrawals must stop, former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon said Tuesday after officially announcing that he would be joining the Likud Party.
During a press conference summoned by Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, Yaalon said, "My deliberation was not whether to join this or that party, but whether to enter politics."
The former army chief said political life would require him to pay a heavy price, but "because I know the challenges this country faces, I couldn't allow myself to just sit idly by."
"The challenges Israel faces require a drastic change, considering the feeling of crisis," he said. "The withdrawals must end".
Yaalon said he had discussed certain strategic, defensive, and political issues with Netanyahu over the past two years, and the two had concluded that they see eye to eye.
"I don't see the Likud as a default choice. I found a correlation between my way of thinking and that Likud's views, and I see it as a real home," he told reporters.
