[2] Ya'alon briefly served as the number 2 on the Yesh Atid-Telem list that was created following the 2020 Israeli legislative election.

Ya'alon retired from politics in the lead up to the 2021 election after testing the waters by splitting his Telem party from Yesh Atid.

His father, a factory worker, had moved to Mandatory Palestine with his parents from Soviet Ukraine in 1925, and was a veteran of the Haganah and Jewish Brigade.

After his tenure as commander was finished, Ya'alon studied at the University of Haifa, obtaining a BA in Political Science, and took an Armored Corps course.

Ya'alon was appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on 9 July 2002, and served in that position until 1 June 2005.

In February 2005, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided not to extend Ya'alon's service as chief of staff for another year.

On 1 June 2005, Ya'alon retired from the army, and Dan Halutz, his successor as chief of staff, oversaw the disengagement.

In December 2005, relatives of the victims of the 1996 shelling of Qana filed a suit against Ya'alon in Washington, D.C., for his alleged role in their deaths.

[10] In late 2006, while Ya'alon was in New Zealand on a private fund-raising trip for the Jewish National Fund, Auckland District Court judge Avinash Deobhakta issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes arising from his role in the 2002 assassination of Hamas commander Salah Shehade, who was killed in a targeted assassination, when an Israeli warplane bombed his home in Gaza City.

He resigned on 20 May 2016, citing "difficult disagreements on moral and professional matters" with prime minister Netanyahu and warning that "extreme and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud Party".

Three members of Lehava were arrested and indicted in 2014 for committing arson and spray-painting anti-Arab graffiti at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand (Yad B'Yad) Bilingual School in Jerusalem and Lehava's leader Ben Zion Gopstein along with other group members were arrested shortly thereafter for incitement.

After multiple polls showing the party unable to pass the 3.5 percent election threshold[citation needed], Ya'alon decided to quit the race.

[29] In 2024, Ya'alon accused the Israeli government of committing ethnic cleansings in the Gaza Strip, and said that the IDF is no longer the most moral army in the world.

[32] In January 2004, Ya'alon publicly stated that the thirteen Sayeret Matkal soldiers who refused to serve in the Israeli-occupied territories were taking the unit's name in vain.

[citation needed] In January 2008, during a discussion at IDC Herzliya, Ya'alon said "There is no way to stabilize the situation all over the world and especially in the Middle East without confronting Iran.

When asked whether "all options" included a military deposition of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the rest of Iran's current leadership, Ya'alon told The Herald: "We have to consider killing him.

"[36] In addition, he participated in a convention of Manhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership"), the more right-wing Settlers' segment within the Likud right-wing Party, in which he condemned the disengagement plan, called Peace Now a "virus"[37][38] and said that "We become accustomed to Arabs being permitted to live everywhere, in the Negev, Galilee, Nablus, Jenin, and [on the other hand] there are areas where Jews are not allowed to live.

[38] Later, after meeting with Netanyahu, Ya'alon retracted parts of his statements and said that he "recognized the importance of democratic discourse and respecting other opinions.

Ya'alon stated that, in his view, the way of thinking that Israel just needs to give one more piece of land and then it will have peace is a kind of "virus.

"[41][42] The remarks attributed to him precipitated a diplomatic row with the U.S. State Department and elicited criticism of members of Israel's government.

Ya'alon met with his counterpart, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, but was denied requests to meet with then-Vice President Joe Biden and Kerry.

He commented that it is important for Israel not to antagonize the U.S. at the moment, because American support is needed in countering diplomatic undertakings at the U.N. that he claimed were "anti-Israel."

Operations are underway in Jabalya, essentially clearing the area of Arabs.”[52] The next day Ya'alon reasserted his comments during multiple interviews.

When speaking about the government during an interview, he stated: “At the end of the day, they’re perpetrating war crimes.”[30] Ya'alon is married with three children.