Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel Resigns, Accuses Gideon Sa'ar of Deception

Deputy Foreign Minister and Knesset member Sharren Haskel announced her resignation from the government in a sharply worded letter to Foreign Minister and New Hope party leader Gideon Sa'ar. In the letter, sent hours after she voted against a controversial law in the Knesset plenum, Haskel accused Sa'ar of lying to her and the Israeli public. She declared, "Gideon Sa'ar, you lied to me, you lied to the people of Israel. I resign from my position as your deputy." Haskel also requested to split off from New Hope to form a single-member faction, aiming to secure party funding that could aid her in future political mergers or alliances.

New Hope party officials criticized her move, accusing her of attempting to extort party funding to leverage a Knesset seat in the next elections. They described her attempt to form a single-member faction just hours before the Knesset's dissolution as "absurd, brazen, and ungrateful," and stated it did not meet legal requirements. Critics from opposition circles labeled her resignation a political stunt, questioning why she chose to resign only days before the Knesset's dissolution.

Haskel's resignation followed a prolonged internal struggle against legislation granting exemptions and arrest freezes for ultra-Orthodox draft evaders. She consistently opposed the draft law promoted by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, viewing the current bill's approval as crossing a moral red line. In December 2025, she publicly warned against yielding to ultra-Orthodox political pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu, stating the law would harm Israel's security and economy.

The final vote on the draft law passed narrowly with 58 in favor and 54 against, exposing broader dissent within the coalition. Likud MKs Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz, along with Religious Zionism's Moshe Solomon, voted against the bill. Minister Ofir Sofer and MK Michal Waldiger were absent, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not participate in the vote at all.