Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu On Sunday he appointed a former rival, Gideon Saar, to his cabinet, expanding his coalition and strengthening his hold on office.
Under their agreement, Netanyahu said Saar would serve as minister without portfolio and be part of the Security Cabinet, the body that oversees the management of the ongoing war against Israel’s enemies across the Middle East.
Saar, 57, had hoped to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another Netanyahu rival. But a deal to become defense minister collapsed several weeks ago after fighting with Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border intensified, leaving the popular Gallant in office for the time being.
Saar is a veteran politician who has had a strained relationship with the prime minister. He was once a rising star in Netanyahu’s Likud party, but left in anger four years ago after accusing the prime minister of turning it into a “cult of personality” while fighting corruption allegations.
Since then, however, Saar has struggled as leader of a small conservative party and enjoys little support among the general public. While he and Netanyahu have little love for each other, they share a hardline ideology toward Israel’s Arab adversaries.
In recent months, Saar has said that Israel must fight until Hamas is destroyed. He has also called for tougher measures against Hezbollah’s sponsor, Iran. And like Netanyahu, he strongly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In a joint statement, they said they had put aside their differences for the good of the nation.
Netanyahu’s decision appears to have been driven in part by domestic politics. He faces a series of key political battles in the coming weeks, including the contentious issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the military, passing a budget and taking the stand in his lengthy corruption trial. Saar is expected to help Netanyahu on many of these issues.
His appointment will also likely reduce the influence of ultranationalist members of his coalition. Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Finance Minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, are religious ideologues who have threatened to overthrow the government if Netanyahu makes too many concessions in any ceasefire agreement. Ben-Gvir has also received international criticism for his provocative visits to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.
Sunday’s deal gives Saar, who hopes to be prime minister one day, a chance to revive his political career, while expanding Netanyahu’s majority coalition to 68 seats in the 120-seat parliament.
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