Key Israeli Minister Quits Coalition as Netanyahu's Unity Govt Stumbles Under Pressure

Tel Aviv – Hours after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar announced his four-seat party’s departure from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition. According to The Times of Israel, Sa'ar announced his resignation on Monday evening, just two weeks after dissolving his political alliance with Benny Gantz. The resignation came after Sa'ar's demand to be appointed to a high-level position in the Israeli war cabinet was not met. With this, the ruling coalition has not shrunk from 76 to 72 seats in the 120-member Knesset. 

While declaring his resignation, the Israeli minister insisted that his party had not joined the emergency government just to warm seats. The government in question was formulated following the October 7 massacre by Hamas in Southern Israel. Sa'ar also emphasized that the Netanyahu administration has so far failed to achieve its war aims in Gaza and he felt that he had no ability to influence its prosecution of the conflict, The Times of Israel reported. Amid the chaos, reports are emerging that Sa'ar's exit has increased the pressure on Gantz to quit the emergency government as well. 

Sa'ar slams Netanyahu for the delayed response to October 7 Massacre

The Israeli minister noted that under Netanyahu, the country's military progress in Gaza has slowed down. “To destroy the military power of Hamas, it was necessary to act on a faster schedule,” Sa'ar averred. He went on to reason that slowing down the military campaign in the region has errored Jerusalem’s leverage to reach a deal to secure the release of its hostages. “Hamas’s takeover of humanitarian aid also distances us from the overthrow of its rule. We have been warning about this for months,” he asserted, complaining that “the navigation of the campaign was largely taken away from the security cabinet,” of which he is a member, “in favour of the limited war cabinet," The Times of Israel reported. “Therefore, we demanded two weeks ago to join the war cabinet so that I could bring to the table my experience from five cabinets over the last 25 years,” he added. 

Sa'ar insisted that he can not bear the responsibility over the current situation in the Israel-Hamas war since he has little to no influence in the policy-building process. “But I cannot bear responsibility as long as I have no…practical ability to influence 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,” he said. Sa'ar's announcement came two weeks after the former senior Likud member announced the breakup of his alliance with Gantz under National Unity, formed ahead of the previous election in 2022.