Sa’ar urges PM to ignore ‘political pressures’ that could harm hostage deal

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar expresses his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts in Washington this week to secure a ceasefire and a hostage release deal in Gaza, urging the premier to resist “political pressures” that could harm the process.

“I stand behind the prime minister, who is on an important diplomatic mission in Washington. The prime minister must ignore political pressures and threats in the effort to reach a framework for the release of the hostages,” writes Sa’ar in a Hebrew-language post on X.

Sa’ar reiterates his assertion earlier this month that reaching a deal “reflects the will of the majority in the government and among the people, and aligns with the national interest.”

The statement follows a series of public statements by Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben Gvir criticizing Netanyahu and opposing a deal with Hamas. Earlier this week, Ben Gvir said that he had prevented previous deals and called on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in preventing the current one.