Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s senior political adviser, Itzik Ashkenazi, on Saturday took to Twitter to blast the Jewish Home party, saying its presence in the coalition is “harmful”.

According to Ashkenazi, the party led by Naftali Bennett is “harming the security of the State of Israel, damaging the rule of law, harmful to the development and prosperity of the settlement enterprise.”

Ya’alon’s close adviser also responded to a recently published poll which found that most Israelis prefer Ya’alon as Defense Minister over Bennett, and said, “This proves once again that the Israeli public wants a responsible adult behind the wheel.”

Ashkenazi’s comments come on the heels of a rift between Ya’alon and members of the Jewish Home over Friday’s eviction of Jews from their homes in Hevron, despite the fact they had legally bought the homes from an Arab.

On Friday, the Jewish Home party came out with a statement against the decision to evict the Jews, saying, “In the midst of a terror wave, the Defense Minister is working firmly, uncompromisingly and inflexibly precisely to throw Jews from their homes. This is a lack of responsibility, a mental fixation and stirring up the tensions without any clear reason.”

“The Defense Minister should turn that flame and firmness against Arab terror and obvious illegal construction in the towns of the terrorists. A check of the purchase documents can be done without throwing Jews from their homes.”

Ya’alon later responded to the criticism, claiming that by evacuating the residents who had purchased the buildings in full he was enforcing the law.

“The state of Israel is a state of law, and I do not intend to compromise when the law is breached. In the case of the buildings in Hevron, the law was systematically breached. In order to enter a home several legal activities are required, and none of them were conducted. Therefore the squatters were evicted,” said Ya’alon.

“I call on the ministers, MKs and public representatives to act with responsibility, to restrain their statements and back the rule of law – and not to encourage taking the law in ones hands and breaching it. That’s a sure recipe for anarchy. The conduct and statements of several politicians on this topic border on abandonment, and harms our national strength,” he added.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu backed Ya’alon on the eviction, saying that the Jews would be allowed to return to their homes once all the necessary approvals are settled.