After Sa’ar bashes ceasefire, Likud source claims he wants to topple Netanyahu

A Likud official on Monday berated senior party member Gideon Sa’ar over his criticism of the apparent ceasefire between Israel and Gaza terror groups, accusing Sa’ar of “just wanting to topple Netanyahu.”

Marking the first time he has broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since returning to politics earlier this year, Likud MK Sa’ar said the terms of the agreement that brought an end to two days of deadly fighting hold little to no benefit for Israel and will not prevent future violence.

“The circumstances in which the ceasefire was reached are very lacking for Israel,” Sa’ar posted on Twitter, in a very rare implicit criticism of Netanyahu from within his own party.

“Since 2015, when he ceaselessly attacked Likud and the prime minister, Gideon Sa’ar has just one goal: to topple prime minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu,” the Likud official, who was not named, told Hebrew media on Monday. “The excuses change, the goal has not.”

The Likud source also accused the opposition’s Blue and White MK Zvi Hauser, a former cabinet secretary under Netanyahu, of “doing Sa’ar’s bidding” and being “totally coordinated” with him, after “defecting to the left.”

Sa’ar was also chided by Likud’s Miri Regev, who called his response “inappropriate.”

“The round [of fighting] has ended, but not the campaign — this is a hint for the future,” Regev told reporters in the Knesset, echoing Netanyahu’s remarks earlier in the day. “We all have some sort of criticism — and Gideon Sa’ar knows this. The prime minister makes decisions in a responsible and substantive way. [Sa’ar’s] comment was inappropriate.”

The apparent ceasefire, whose terms were not immediately clear, came into effect early Monday after several hours of quiet and after a previous reported truce was punctured by rocket fire and airstrikes.

The Israeli government refused to confirm the reported truce, apparently so as to avoid publicly acknowledging its negotiations with terrorist groups. However, the military announced that, as of 7 a.m., it was lifting all security restrictions that had been in place in the south during the fighting, and that schools would be allowed to open, indicating that a ceasefire had indeed been reached.

Over 600 rockets were fired at Israel since Saturday, killing four Israelis and injuring dozens. The army responded with some 300 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip; Hamas said 31 Gazans were killed; at least 11 of them were members of terror groups.

“The time in between rounds of violence targeting Israel and its citizens is decreasing, while terrorist groups in Gaza are getting stronger,” Sa’ar said. “A [military] campaign was not prevented, but postponed.”

In the lead-up to the Likud primary election in February, when the party chose its Knesset slate for April’s general elections, Netanyahu launched a frontal assault on Sa’ar’s candidacy, accusing him in a video of plotting to replace him. The two have since made their peace — at least publicly — shaking hands in front of cameras at a party event shortly after the primary.

At the time, Regev told Army Radio that she had voted for a “high-quality” slate, including Sa’ar, while suggesting the prime minister had been misled about the former Likud minister’s ambitions.

Sa’ar was placed fifth on the party list.

Sa’ar entered the Knesset as a Likud MK in 2003 and held the posts of education and interior minister before stepping down in 2014. He announced his return to politics in 2017.

Though he has said his ultimate goal is to be prime minister, Sa’ar has publicly pledged to back Netanyahu.