From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Likud approves Sa’ar’s return to party
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The Likud Central Committee votes to approve a merger with the coalition’s New Hope party, bringing its chairman, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, back into Likud five years after he quit over differences with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Addressing Likud Central Committee members, Sa’ar says the Shechiyanu blessing, thanking God for having “granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this moment.”
Addressing the Central Committee, Netanyahu says that Israel will “continue until complete victory” in Gaza and says that both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority want to destroy Israel and are only separated by their methods.
The Times of Israel Community.