Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'arYonatan Sindel/Flash90

MK Gideon Sa'ar formally announced his departure from the Likud party and resignation from the Knesset Tuesday night. He will form a new political party and run for prime minister in the next elections. The party will be called 'Tikva Hadasha,' or 'New Hope.'

"Israel has been in an ongoing political crisis for the past two years, the worst in its history. During it, the rifts in the nation are constantly expanding, public discourse is becoming increasingly toxic, and public trust in the political system is deteriorating," Sa'ar said.

"I can't be a Likud member under Netanyahu's ;leadership," he said.

"The Likud has been my political and emotional home all my adult life. But the movement has become a tool for the interests of its leader, a personality cult for one man - flesh and man," Sa'ar claimed.

"In addition to the political crisis, Israel is experiencing a severe social and economic crisis, which is exacerbated as a result of the government's failure to deal with the coronavirus. With the results of these two difficult crises, both still in full swing, Israel will have to deal with it in the coming years.

"The citizens of Israel were exposed to the misery of the political system and the weakness of the public systems. The current government has looted the broad public and parliamentary trust given to it upon its establishment.

Many Israeli citizens look to the future with anxiety and hopelessness. Many ask themselves - what future awaits me and my children and grandchildren? This has not always been the case, and it does not have to be the case. There is a better Israel, and it is waiting for us, but the political system under its current leadership and composition will not be able to make the necessary correction.

"A year ago, I tried to bring about change within my movement - the Likud movement. I ran against Prime Minister Netanyahu for the Likud leadership and against his candidacy for prime minister. I did not succeed then, and I respected the decision of the Likud members.

"However, everything that has happened in the last year -hasonly strengthened my awareness that a change in the leadership of the state is necessary. Without such a change - the political and social crisis in Israel will only intensify and the end will be ours," he said.

Sa'ar, who previously served in senior ministerial positions, including as Minister of Education and Minister of the Interior, retired from the political system in 2014, due to his rocky relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

In the run-up to the April 2019 elections, Sa'ar returned to the political system, and after losing to Prime Minister Netanyahu in the primaries for the Likud leadership he was placed high on the Knesset list.

Despite the high position on the Likud list in which he was placed, he remained an MK and was not appointed by Netanyahu as a minister in the government.