developing· Politics· Updated 12:16

Gideon Sa'ar Appointed Israel's Interior Minister Alongside Foreign Affairs Role

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to bring Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar back to the Interior Ministry, after the post sat vacant for months and after Likud MK Ofir Katz turned it down. The cabinet was expected to vote on the appointment on Wednesday, and Makan later reported that the government approved it.

7 newsrooms · 4 languages · since 10 Nov, 12:26

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Gideon Sa'ar Appointed Israel's Interior Minister Alongside Foreign Affairs Role — Illustration by baba

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What happened

01Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to appoint Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar as interior minister, with cabinet approval scheduled for Wednesday.
02Makan later reported that the Israeli government approved Sa’ar’s appointment, giving him the interior and foreign affairs portfolios together.
03Sa’ar previously served as interior minister from 2013 to 2014, before returning to the post after a long vacancy.
04The Interior Ministry had been without a minister since May, after Shas MK Moshe Arbel resigned.
05Likud MK Ofir Katz declined Netanyahu’s offer for the post and chose to focus on coordinating the right-wing bloc in the Knesset.
06Kikar HaShabbat and Ice said Netanyahu was trying to block an alternative government and keep ultra-Orthodox parties from joining it.
07Ice said Natan Eshel held secret talks with Mansour Abbas as part of efforts to thwart an opposition government.

Sa’ar is set to hold the interior portfolio alongside his foreign affairs role. He previously served as interior minister from 2013 to 2014, and the vacancy began after Shas MK Moshe Arbel resigned in May, leaving the ministry without a minister for more than a year.

According to the reports, Netanyahu first offered the job to Katz, the coalition whip, but Katz chose to stay in the Knesset and focus on coordinating the right-wing bloc. Israel National News said the long vacancy had affected certain legal powers of the Interior Ministry.

Kikar HaShabbat and Ice said the move came as Netanyahu worked to block an alternative government and keep ultra-Orthodox parties from joining it, with Ice adding that secret contacts with Mansour Abbas were part of that effort. Makan said Sa’ar would use the post to address pressing issues and support local authorities and residents.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 7 newsrooms. Updated 12:32