New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar has announced that he and Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton are resigning from the government after his demand to be included in the War Cabinet was denied.
‘’The October 7th Massacre, committed by Hamas, put Israel in a fateful position. The feeling of emergency and heartbreak that we all experienced led me and my colleagues to the decision that the good of the state obliges us to leave aside all political conflicts and differences and join the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. This is despite the gaps that were and remain between us and this government. That is how I believe any patriot should have acted, and that is what we did. Our goal in joining the emergency government was to join the most important war Israel has ever fought. For the good of the cause, I joined the government despite not being included in the war cabinet, and despite that being against the agreement that existed between me and my former partners, I preferred the existence of an emergency government. In hindsight, perhaps I was mistaken.”
“In the context of my position in the security cabinet, I took part in designing the goals of the war. I believed, and still do, that they are ambitious but possible. Additionally, we have no choice. Our soldiers fought and are fighting bravely over the last few months. The IDF made, and continues to make, noteworthy advances. Nevertheless, over the last few months, I and the citizens of Israel are painfully aware ofhow the war is being navigated, and it is not bringing us closer to its goals.”
“I predicted and warned ahead of time that slowing the military advance, which in turn meant prolonging the war, would be against the national interest. This has implications for extending the conflict in the north and the continued suffering of tens of thousands of evacuees. Destroying the military force of Hamas required a faster timetable. Reducing military pressure lost us an important piece of leverage for a prisoner exchange deal. Extending the war has also worsened our International political position.”
“There has also been a delay in everything related to achieving the goal of destroying Hamas's governmental capabilities. There is no organized, methodical, and effective working plan to achieve that goal. Hamas's hijacking of humanitarian aid makes the goal of collapsing its rule further away. For several months, we have warned of this, both in public and more importantly in security cabinet meetings. I and my colleague minister Yifat Shasha-Biton have repeatedly emphasized our position and our demand for a change of direction. Our demand for a new idea of how to organize the war has, unfortunately, not succeeded.’’
‘’This is also the place to note that navigating the war has been taken in large part from the Security Cabinet for the benefit of the reduced War Cabinet. The Security Cabinet has become the Parliament. It is kept from important information that was brought to the War Cabinet, despite the Security Cabinet being the authorized statutory forum for such information. The War Cabinet lacks, I believe, any critiques that could bring to the table other ideas. For that reason, we demanded two weeks ago to be added to the War Cabinet, so that I could bring my experience from five cabinets over 25 years to the table, as well as my values and worldview.”
“Less than a day afterward, when I expressed our demand for representation in the War Cabinet, Minister Gantz stated ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ in those words. The public does not agree. The public identifies with the goals of the war, and understands that a change of direction is needed to achieve them.”
“I would like to emphasize the most important thing: the idea of taking responsibility. I am responsible, and have shared responsibility for all the decisions and policies since I joined the government on October 12th. I am responsible despite criticism, even when I had critiques of my own. I cannot take responsibility when I have, in my opinion, no practical capacity to influence the policies. I simply do not see any more value in this. We did not join the government to keep seats warm. We joined the government, which we opposed, to help Israel in a painful time. and circumstances such as these, with the pain of the nation so great and after nearly half a year of war, it is best to speak clearly and succinctly from outside of the government, and even challenge it in public regarding the war.”
“Therefore, with sorrow but certainty, a short while ago, I announced my intention to quit the government and signed my resignation letter to the Prime Minister. Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton did the same.”
“During our tenure in the government, we always attempted to help the state and the people as best as we could. Outside of the government, we will continue to be the patriotic and responsible voice. We will support any process for achieving the goals of the war. In political matters, we will first consider the good of the state and the implications of decisions on the war and the efforts to achieve its goals.”
“We support IDF soldiers and the security forces, who even now are operating in Gaza, on the Lebanon border, in Judea and Samaria, and everywhere else. We support the families of the hostages, and hope to see them home soon. As Purim draws to a close, I wish for all of us to move from delays to defeating our enemies, from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning to celebration.”