Former MK Yomtob Kalfon told Israel National News on Monday evening that he was hurt by the way Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided to remove him from the Knesset.
Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana resigned from his ministerial post on Friday, and returned to the Knesset as a regular Yamina MK. That move came at the expense of Kalfon, who some see as the potential "next renegade" who will leave the coalition after coalition chairwoman Idit Silman.
"I was very hurt by the way I was fired, after acting fairly and honestly with the Yamina party. More than the personal aspect, I feel that those who were harmed the most are the Olim who supported Yamina and that Naftali Bennett is Prime Minister thanks to them," Kalfon said Monday night.
He pointed out that he may return to the Knesset. "I was promised that if MK Nir Orbach is appointed Minister of Settlement Affairs or that if [Amichai] Chikli or Silman resigned, I could return and serve the people of Israel in the Knesset."
At the same time, Kalfon is planning the next step. "If there is a significant proposal that will allow me to serve the Olim outside the Knesset, I will seriously consider it."
The former Knesset member is aware of reports and rumors that the Ra’am party demanded that the Prime Minister remove him from the Knesset due to his visiting the Temple Mount.
"I hope the report is incorrect, even though I visited the Temple Mount a week before I was ousted, and Ra’am returned to the coalition the day before I was ousted."
"If my position as a Knesset member depends on visiting the Temple Mount - then I would have ascended the Temple Mount a thousand more times, even at the price of not being a Knesset member anymore," he concluded.