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Sunday, December 29, 2024
Sa’ar holding talks on rejoining Likud — report
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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"
A report says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the leader of the coalition’s New Hope party, is set to return to the Likud, years after quitting the party over a falling out with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Channel 12 news, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, also from New Hope, is unlikely to follow Sa’ar. Haskel did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Times of Israel.
A source with knowledge of the issue tells The Times of Israel that, when New Hope joined the Netanyahu-led governing coalition earlier this year, the sides agreed to hold merger talks at some point in the future.
“There is nothing new on the subject. As is known, the possibility of merging parties was discussed in the negotiations that preceded the signing of the coalition agreement between the Likud and New Hope,” the source says.
“In short, such a possibility exists, as is known, and it was agreed between the parties to discuss it in the future. Nothing was agreed upon,” the source says, adding that no timetable for implementation was discussed either.
Sa’ar began his political career with Likud and became one of its most prominent members, but his rising popularity and other disputes drove him and Netanyahu apart, causing Sa’ar to quit politics in 2014. He later returned with a vow to not politically collaborate with Netanyahu again.
He nonetheless joined the coalition as part of the National Unity alliance with Benny Gantz following the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel. New Hope quit the alliance with Gantz in March and bowed out of the coalition weeks later, but rejoined Netanyahu’s alliance for a second time in September and Sa’ar was appointed foreign minister in November.
Polls have shown New Hope falling short of the vote threshold needed to return to the Knesset if elections were held now. For Netanyahu, bringing in Sa’ar would allow him to neutralize the minister’s attempts to break with the coalition on issues such as the judicial overhaul.
The Times of Israel Community.