Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has pulled out of the annual Jerusalem Conference, his office announced suddenly on Tuesday.

The conference is sponsored by Arutz Sheva and its sister paper Besheva, and is seen as one of the major events of the national camp.

Sources close to the defense minister told Arutz Sheva his decision to withdraw from the event is connected to unspecified upcoming demolitions to be carried out against Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, as well as Ya’alon’s anger over right-wing support for the purchase of two homes by the Hevron Jewish community.

The Jerusalem Conference regularly features addresses by senior political figures, and will take place 9-10 February. Speakers this year include President Reuven Rivlin, Opposition Leader Yitzhak Herzog, a number of senior MKs from the Likud and Jewish Home parties, and various leading rabbis and public figures.

In response to inquiries from Arutz Sheva, Ya’alon’s spokesman cited “unforeseen events” as the cause of the cancellation, and dismissed all other “speculation” as “irrelevant.”