Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar Appoints New Deputy After Sharren Haskel's Resignation

Following the resignation of former Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel and a public dispute with the National Right party, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced on Wednesday the appointment of MK Michel Buskila as the new Deputy Foreign Minister. Sa'ar made the decision with the consent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Buskila, who serves as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chairs the Subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Hasbara, and is a member of the Intelligence Subcommittee.

The appointment will be submitted for government approval in a telephone vote later Wednesday and will take effect Thursday evening, 48 hours after Haskel's resignation. An official announcement will follow in the Knesset in accordance with legal procedures. This appointment comes amid a public rift between Haskel and her former party, the National Right, which sharply criticized her after her resignation. The party accused Haskel of attempting to "extort party funding" and described her request to form a single-member faction shortly before the Knesset's dissolution as "absurd, audacious, and ungrateful," also stating it does not meet legal requirements.