Former Netanyahu rival Gideon Saar joins Israeli cabinet

Jerusalem, Sep 30
Israeli opposition lawmaker Gideon Saar has joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the two politicians said.



In a video statement, Netanyahu said on Sunday that under the terms of their agreement, Saar would be appointed to his security cabinet, which is responsible for key policy decisions in Israel's ongoing war.

According to state-owned Kan TV, Saar, a prominent far-right politician and former rival of Netanyahu, had been in talks over a deal that would have seen him replace Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, another political rival of the Prime Minister. However, the effort faltered last week as Israel intensified its offensive against Hezbollah, Xinhua news agency reported.

Saar's entry was widely viewed by local media as an attempt to solidify Netanyahu's coalition government and strengthen his grip on power.

Saar's inclusion in the government coalition takes its support in the 120-seat Israeli parliament from 64 to 68, weakening the de-facto veto power that far-right parties have over the cabinet.

The move comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Lebanon, Gaza and across the Middle East in what is increasingly looking like a wider regional war.

Saar had 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 page since the start of the war on Gaza.

Since Monday, Israel has conducted its most extensive attacks on Lebanon since 2006, launching airstrikes on Friday evening against Hezbollah's main headquarters in Dahieh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, during which the armed group's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several other commanders were killed.

The heavy assaults mark the latest escalation of the ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel's retaliatory artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.