Sa’ar threatens to bolt coalition unless Netanyahu puts him in war cabinet very soon
New Hope chief cites ideological differences with Gantz as reason for splitting up National Unity, says he won’t rejoin Likud and slams handling of war: ‘There’s no concrete plan’
New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar on Saturday said he would resign from the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not appoint him to the war cabinet in the near future, days after dissolving his political alliance with Benny Gantz.
As part of National Unity, Sa’ar joined the government as an emergency measure after Hamas initiated the ongoing war in Gaza with its October 7 terror attack in southern Israel. On Tuesday, Sa’ar announced New Hope was ending its partnership with Gantz’s Blue and White, and would go it alone to “clearly express our national and civil worldview.”
Speaking to Channel 12, Sa’ar said he told Netanyahu of New Hope’s intention to resign and join the opposition should he not be given a seat in the war cabinet, giving the premier a deadline of “several days” to do so.
The war cabinet currently has three voting members: Netanyahu, Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Blue and White’s Gadi Eisenkot is an observer, as are Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, both confidantes of Netanyahu.
“I said that I will stay in the government as long as I can influence things and the direction is right,” Sa’ar said. “I want the chance to try and have an influence. Outside of the [war] cabinet, I will not be able to.”
While Netanyahu has long had acrimonious ties with Sa’ar, keeping his former Likud party rival in the government could dilute the influence of his other coalition partners if Gantz and his party quit, as they are widely expected to eventually do.
Explaining his demand to join the war cabinet, Sa’ar expressed dissatisfaction with the key decision-making forum, charging that the military offensive in the Gaza Strip was stalling.
“Each day, we move further away from victory,” Sa’ar asserted. “There is no concrete plan, as I understand it, to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.”
When asked why he parted ways with Gantz, Sa’ar cited irreconcilable differences, singling out the Blue and White head’s absence from the failed vote to remove a far-left lawmaker for backing South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Sa’ar, who left Likud in December 2021 after an unsuccessful bid to oust Netanyahu as leader, clarified that he was in favor of holding early elections after the war and that he has no plans to return to his former party, with or without Netanyahu.
“The country needs fixing and I am consistent in my views,” Sa’ar said.
His New Hope party, which has four seats, merged with Gantz’s Blue and White, which has eight, in July 2022. Polls conducted after the breakup of National Unity this week indicated New Hope would win four to six seats if new elections were held today.
Sam Sokil contributed to this report.
