New Hope leader MK Gideon Saar announced he was resigning from the government at a press conference on Monday night, weeks after threatening to resign if he was not included in the war cabinet.
Mr. Saar accused the government of prolonging the war and stressed that he and his party had tried to get the government to change its approach to the war.
“I entered the government despite my agreement with my former partners, even though I was not included in the war cabinet. So I prioritized the formation of an emergency government. In hindsight, I was wrong about that. “Maybe it was,” Searle said.
The party leader stressed that he felt the way the war was being fought was “not getting us as close as we need to to achieving our goals”.
“We recognized and warned in advance that slowing military progress, or prolonging operations, was contrary to the national interest,” Saar said. “We needed to act on a faster schedule to destroy Hamas' military power. By lowering military pressure, we lost significant leverage to reach a new hostage agreement. Military The extension of the operation also worsened our country's situation in the international political arena.
“There was also confusion regarding progress toward the goal of annihilating Hamas's ruling forces. There was no orderly, systematic, and effective work plan to achieve it. Hamas' takeover of humanitarian assistance “This will also keep us from overthrowing that control. We have been warning about this for months,” Searle added.
Mr. Saar said he repeatedly called for a “reorientation” of the war effort during security cabinet meetings, but his ideas were repeatedly rejected.
Mr Searle has been responsible for the decisions taken by the government since joining the government in mid-October, but said: “In my judgment, there is no real possibility of influencing the direction of the government.'' I can't take responsibility unless they do.” of policy.
“I don't think there's any use for this anymore. We didn't come to the government to warm our chairs. We opposed the government to help the people of Israel in a difficult time. But we came to this government,” Searle said.
“As members of the government, we have always tried to help our people and our country to the best of our ability,” the New Hope leader said. “We will continue to be a patriotic and responsible voice, even outside of government. We will support any move to achieve the objectives of the war. In political matters, the interests of the country come first. , consider the meaning of decisions regarding war and the efforts to achieve those objectives.”
Farewell between Searle and Ganz
Two weeks ago, Saar announced his departure from Benny Gantz's National Unity Party, saying it did not reflect his views and positions. Mr. Searle requested a post in the War Cabinet, adding that if he was not added he would leave the government.
Saar was once a member of the Likud party, but left the party in 2020 to seek to succeed Likud leader and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
