New Hope chief Gideon Sa'ar announces he's quitting government

• Published date: 25 March 2024
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Sa'ar stressed that he and his party tried to get the government to change its approach to the war, accusing the government of dragging out the war

"I entered the government even though I was not included in the war cabinet, contrary to the agreement between me and my former partner. I then prioritized the establishment of the emergency government. In retrospect, maybe I was wrong about that," said Sa'ar.

The party leader stressed that he felt that the way the war was being conducted "does not bring us as close as required to achieving its goals.

"I saw and warned in advance that the slowing down of military progress, which means prolonging the campaign, would be against the national interest," said Sa'ar. "To destroy Hamas's military power, it was necessary to act on a faster schedule. By lowering the military pressure, we lost significant leverage to arrive at a new hostage deal. The extension of the military campaign also aggravated our situation in the international political arena.

"There was also shuffling when it came to progress towards the goal of destroying the ruling forces of Hamas. There was no orderly, systematic, and effective work plan to achieve it. Hamas's takeover of humanitarian aid also distances us from the overthrow of its rule. We have been warning about this for months," added Sa'ar.

Sa'ar said he repeatedly demanded a "change of direction" in the war effort during meetings of the security cabinet, but his ideas were repeatedly rejected.

Sa'ar stressed that while he takes responsibility for the decisions made by the...