Netanyahu’s former rival Gideon Saar joins the Israeli cabinet

The move will strengthen the prime minister’s ruling coalition at the national level as Israel attacks countries across the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his former rival Gideon Saar will join the Israeli cabinet, which will strengthen the government coalition and increase its support in the country’s parliament.

Jastrzębie Saara will be a minister without portfolio, the Prime Minister announced on Sunday.

Saar’s inclusion in the government coalition causes his support in the 120-seat Israeli parliament to drop from 64 to 68, de facto weakening the veto power that far-right parties have over the government.

The move comes as Israel steps up its attacks on Lebanon, Gaza and across the Middle East in the face of what increasingly looks like a wider regional war.

Saar has been one of Netanyahu’s most vocal critics in recent years, but the Israeli prime minister suggested that the two politicians have been on the same side since the beginning of the Gaza war.

“Gideon accepted my request and agreed to return to the government,” Netanyahu said in a joint statement, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

“During discussions in the security cabinet, I was very impressed by Saar’s broad vision and his ability to offer creative solutions to complex problems. We have discussed the necessary actions many times. “It’s no secret that we have had arguments in the past, but since October 7, we have both put all our past grievances behind us.”

For his part, Saar described the decision to join the government as “a patriotic and right decision that should be made now.”

“What is crucial at this time is to strengthen Israel, its government and the unity and cohesion within it,” he said.

Earlier this month, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was considering replacing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with Saar. Haaretz and Ynet also reported that Saar and Netanyahu jointly intend to choose a new head of the Israeli army to replace Herzi Halevi.

Saar, a former lawyer and journalist, was first introduced to politics 20 years ago by Netanyahu, who appointed him cabinet secretary during his first term.

He was considered a rising star of Netanyahu’s Likud party and one of the few independent voices in a party that is largely synonymous with the prime minister and his policies.

Saar left Likud after unsuccessfully challenging Netanyahu for the party leadership. At the end of 2020, Saar formed his own political movement – called New Hope.

The expansion of the government is likely to strengthen Netanyahu by reducing his dependence on other coalition members.