New Hope chief Gideon Sa’ar announces he’s quitting government

New Hope leader MK Gideon Sa’ar announced that he was leaving the government at a press conference on Monday evening, a few weeks after he threatened to do so if he wasn’t added to the war cabinet.

Sa’ar stressed that he and his party tried to get the government to change its approach to the war, accusing the government of dragging out the war.

“I entered the government even though I was not included in the war cabinet, contrary to the agreement between me and my former partner. I then prioritized the establishment of the emergency government. In retrospect, maybe I was wrong about that,” said Sa’ar.

The party leader stressed that he felt that the way the war was being conducted “does not bring us as close as required to achieving its goals.

“I saw and warned in advance that the slowing down of military progress, which means prolonging the campaign, would be against the national interest,” said Sa’ar. “To destroy Hamas's military power, it was necessary to act on a faster schedule. By lowering the military pressure, we lost significant leverage to arrive at a new hostage deal. The extension of the military campaign also aggravated our situation in the international political arena.

“There was also shuffling when it came to progress towards the goal of destroying the ruling forces of Hamas. There was no orderly, systematic, and effective work plan to achieve it. Hamas’s takeover of humanitarian aid also distances us from the overthrow of its rule. We have been warning about this for months,” added Sa’ar.

Sa’ar said he repeatedly demanded a “change of direction” in the war effort during meetings of the security cabinet, but his ideas were repeatedly rejected.

Sa’ar stressed that while he takes responsibility for the decisions made by the government since he joined it in mid-October, “I cannot bear responsibility as long as I do not, according to my judgment, have a practical possibility of influencing the direction of policy.

“I just don’t see any use in it anymore. We did not come to the government to warm chairs. We came to the government – which we opposed – to help the people of Israel in a difficult time,” said Sa’ar.

“During our membership in the government, we always tried to help the people and the country to the best of our ability,” said the New Hope leader. “Even outside the government, we will continue to be a patriotic and responsible voice. We will back every move to achieve the goals of the war. In political issues, we will first consider the good of the country and the meaning of decisions on the war and the effort to achieve its goals.”

Sa'ar's split from Gantz

Two weeks ago, Sa’ar announced that he was splitting from Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, saying the party did not reflect his views and positions. Sa’ar demanded a spot on the war cabinet, adding that if he was not added, he would leave the government.

Sa’ar used to be a member of the Likud, but left in 2020 after attempting to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Likud party.