Sa’ar considering new gov’t with Likud – report

T. Belman.  The Likud Camp plus Saar have 58 seats. To form government without elections, they would need to coopt three defectors from Yamina.  Sure looks doable.

The Justice Minister reportedly held talks with a Likud representative about the option of forming a new government without dissolving the Knesset.

By GIL HOFFMAN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Israel’s Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar is seen speaking at the Jerusalem Post annual conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2021.

Justice Minister Gidon Sa’ar is in talks with the Likud on forming an alternate government led by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Yediot Ahronot reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Sa’ar would become Foreign Minister and other MKs in his New Hope party would be given top posts.

Channel 12 reported on Tuesday night that New Hope Minister Zeev Elkin was also meeting with Likud officials regarding the formation of a new coalition.

New Hope denied both reports and deemed them “fake news”. The Likud spokesperson also denied that any negotiations had taken place.

Saar has expressed frustration over the past few weeks that the current government has not been capable of passing even the most consensus legislation. nyahu gestures at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 16, 2022. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Sa’ar’s warning

Sa’ar warned on Tuesday that the coalition would fall apart if it did not reaffirm a directive giving Israel legal jurisdiction over Israelis living in the West Bank, which has been approved every five years since 1967. The directive expires at the end of June.

A vote on the bill was postponed by a week, because Ra’am (United Arab List), Meretz and opposition MKs said they would not support it.

The Likud has toned down its attacks on Saar and his New Hope colleagues in recent weeks. According to the Yediot report, Netanyahu’s point man for the talks has been attorney Yaakov Atraktzi, who led coalition talks for the party in recent elections.