Chief of Israeli diplomacy will take over the Ministry of the Interior

O Likud, of the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister, announced today that he will appoint the head of diplomacy in office, Gideon Saar, to the Home Office, accumulating both functions while the process of forming a new government is underway.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present tomorrow [Wednesday] to the Council of Ministers, for approval, the appointment of Minister Gideon Saar as Minister of the Interior. Saar held this position between 2013 and 2014”, says a brief statement released by Likud.

Netanyahu had proposed the post to Congressman Ofir Katz, who refused to focus on the role of chairman of the Likud parliamentary group in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), after the government coalition lost the majority in the legislative elections on 27 October, according to the same note.

The Interior folder was vacant since the resignation of Moshe Arbel, member of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, in July 2025.

After leaving, motivated by disagreements with the government coalition on the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews (haredim) to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), some of the competences were transferred to Netanyahu himself.

Following the legal pressure exerted by the Supreme Court, Netanyahu undertook in August 2026 to appoint a new holder for the Interior.

In December, the non-governmental organization Movement for a Quality Government in Israel submitted a petition to the court, requesting Netanyahu to be required to appoint a permanent Interior Minister.

“ The absence of a permanent Minister of the Interior creates real difficulties, both from a legal and practical point of view, and compromises a wide range of essential competences”, said Tomer Naor, Vice-Director of the Movement for a Quality Government in December.

The current Netanyahu Government remains in office as outgoing executive until the new Council of Ministers obtains the approval of the Knesset, which is due today to hold the constitutive session following the elections of 27 October.

Last Sunday, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, from Yashsar! Party, received the presidential mandate to form Government, with 28 days, extended for another 14, to complete the process. Therefore, Saar should act as interim minister of the two portfolios, at least during this transitional period.

On Monday, Israeli public broadcaster Kan indicated that Eisenkot will start negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox parties with a view to enabling an executive and overcoming disagreements in its support group.

According to Kan, negotiations with the two ultra-orthodox forces were agreed at a meeting that day between Eisenkot and one of his so-called change bloc partners, the leader of the Yisrael Beytenu (Israel is Our House), Avigdor Lieberman.

The meeting was confirmed by Yashar! in a statement, but without signaling if it was found any way out to the political impasse created by the legislative of october.

Yashar’s statement only states that “both expressed confidence in their ability to form a stable government for a four-year term”.

The Yashar! and three other Jewish base parties of the bloc of change do not however have the majority of 61 deputies to control the parliament (Knesset).

The solution could lie in the two Arab formations, which have elected a record of 19 Members, but this support has been refused by Lieberman, a former Defense Minister who, in recent days, has given signs of approaching an understanding with the ultra-Orthodox, who, in turn, belonged to the pro-Netanyahu group.

According to station Kan, quoted by The Times of Israel, the leaders of the opposition Zionist parties agreed to open negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox Shas parties, which elected six deputies, and United Judaism of the Torah, with seven.

The support of the two ultra-Orthodox groups would allow the anti-Netanyahu bloc to add 61 Members in parliament, i.e. the minimum number for an absolute majority.