Netanyahu said to meet recently with Sa’ar, aiming to woo him into government
New Hope chief said insisting on taking defense portfolio from Gallant if he joins coalition, but PM only offering other ministries
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in contact with opposition MK Gideon Sa’ar about bringing Sa’ar’s New Hope party into the government, with the two even holding a meeting on the topic, according to a report Wednesday.
Walla news said the talks came after a previous attempt by Netanyahu to lure Sa’ar out of the opposition failed, reportedly over the latter’s demand to be made defense minister, a position he is said to maintain.
Contacts via envoys were recently re-established, the news site reported, citing unnamed political sources.
Two sources were quoted saying the prime minister and New Hope leader held a face-to-face meeting in the last two weeks.
The report said Netanyahu is offering Sa’ar a seat in the cabinet and reserved spots for New Hope on the slate of his Likud party — which Sa’ar was previously a member of — in the next elections, whenever they may be.
However, sources who spoke to Walla said Sa’ar is still demanding the defense portfolio, which is held by Likud’s Yoav Gallant, while Netanyahu is only proposing other ministries for him.
Netanyahu’s office denied the report, while Sa’ar’s office simply said “there is nothing new on the matter.”
The reported political maneuvering came amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip that began when Hamas on October 7 led a massive cross-border attack in which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages into Gaza.
Sa’ar joined the wartime government days after October 7 when New Hope was part of the Benny Gantz-led National Unity party, before splitting off his faction in March and pulling out of the coalition after his demand to be admitted to the now-defunct war cabinet was denied. He argued that the government had failed to achieve its war aims in Gaza and he felt that he had no ability to influence Israel’s prosecution of the conflict.
On Tuesday, Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer of the far-right Religious Zionism party appeared to endorse a unity government.
Speaking at a state ceremony, Sofer declared that due to the challenges posed by the current conflict, “we will be required to make dramatic decisions for Israel,” asserting that now is “the time to join forces and know how to act together.”
His remarks came after President Isaac Herzog called on politicians to put aside their differences for the sake of the hostages held in Gaza.
Netanyahu and his government is under pressure from mediators — including the US — and in Israel to agree a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas. However, far-right elements in the government oppose such a deal, demanding that the war continue until Hamas is destroyed.
The government’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party is reportedly pushing Netanyahu to expand the makeup of the coalition in order to dilute the influence of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has threatened to bolt the government if it proceeds with the deal being negotiated.
New Hope has four seats in the Knesset, fewer than the six held by Otzma Yehudit, but enough to keep Netanyahu’s 64-seat coalition afloat if Ben Gvir abandons it.
A previous round of contacts between Netanyahu and Sa’ar was reportedly held in July. Discussion were said to have broken down after the premier’s wife and advisers indicated that they would not trust the hawkish former Likud politician as defense minister.
A spokesman for Sa’ar denied the report and its premise, telling The Times of Israel in August that “there were no negotiations so there was no breakdown.”
Last month, Walla reported that Netanyahu had planned to axe Gallant when he returned from his July visit to the United States, but the dismissal was held up by security considerations amid the war in the Gaza Strip and skirmishes in the north against Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
