Interior Minister Gideon Saar
Interior Minister Gideon SaarFlash 90

Shock has rippled through the political scene Wednesday, after Interior Minister and longtime Likud MK Gidon Sa'ar announced his upcoming resignation from politics. 

Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud), said that he "regretted" Sa'ar's decision.

"I have great respect for Gidon's work and his contribution to the Likud party and to the State of Israel," Levin stated. "I wish him great success, and I am convinced that he will be successful wherever he goes, and that he will yet return to the ranks of the Likud leadership."

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) expressed similar sentiments.

"I'm sorry to hear of the resignation of Minister Gidon Sa'ar," Liberman said, adding that Sa'ar "served the position of interior minister very well" and "was one of the most prominent ministers" in the Knesset. 

"His resignation is a loss to the government, and I hope he will continue to contribute to public life in Israel," Liberman concluded.

MK and former Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said that he was sorry to see Sa'ar go.

"One of the best members of the Likud is leaving us," Danon stated, sighing that a "disconnect exists between the Likud leadership and the situation in the field." 

MK Miri Regev (Likud), meanwhile, is in shock. 

"I was very surprised by Minister Gideon Sa'ar's decision tonight to quit political life," she wrote on her Facebook page. "Sa'ar is an asset to the Likud and is one of the pillars of the party."

"I was very sorry to hear the announcement this evening; I am sorry that the Likud party will be losing one of its best ministers," she continued. "However, I am happy that Sa'ar is not leaving Likud entirely, and I hope that after he takes a rest from politics that he will return."

Sa'ar's political clout for the nationalist cause will be missed by many, MKs said - especially regarding Israel's rights to Judea and Samaria. 

"Sa'ar is a friend of Israel," MK Orit Struk (Jewish Home) stated shortly after the news broke. "[He] has consistently voiced opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state."

"There is no doubt that his absence will be felt throughout the entire political system," she continued. Like Regev, she added that she "ha[s] no doubt that he will return and contribute to Israel his values ​​and capabilities."