Lapid said to request AG freeze 12 Sa’ar ambassador appointments until after election

Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara today, requesting that she freeze 12 planned appointments of new ambassadors by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, saying their approvals in the current election period would “tie the hands” of the next foreign minister, according to an unsourced Ynet report.

Lapid, who held the post of foreign minister in 2021-2022, argues that ministers in a caretaker government are required to exercise restraint when there is no urgent public need to act, citing attorney general guidelines and a High Court ruling on limiting nonessential government decisions during an election period, the report says.

The appeal, submitted by Lapid’s attorney, reportedly stresses that it does not challenge the candidates’ qualifications, but argues there is no need to complete the process now, five weeks before the election.

Sa’ar intends to bring 12 candidates before the Foreign Ministry’s appointments committee, with 11 of them due to take up their posts only in summer 2027, while one appointment would not begin until 2028, Ynet says.

The Foreign Ministry told the Hebrew outlet in a statement yesterday that the appointments should be completed early to give diplomats and their families sufficient time to prepare for overseas postings, including schooling arrangements, relocation and obtaining host-country approval.

The ministry also says the list is relatively small compared with previous years, that similar appointment processes continued during past election campaigns, and that the process is being conducted in full coordination with the Civil Service Commission and Justice Ministry.