5 days ago
Gideon Sa'ar resigns as Knesset member, will continue as Foreign Minister
Israeli-Druze politician Akram Hasson is slated to take Sa'ar's place as an MK per the Likud party list.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar submitted his resignation as a member of the Knesset to Speaker Amir Ohana on Tuesday.
The resignation, under Norwegian Law, will take effect within 48 hours of its submission, N12 noted.
Israeli-Druze politician Akram Hasson is slated to take Sa'ar's place as an MK per the National Unity list.
Sa'ar will continue in his role as Foreign Minister.
The move does not alter the balance between opposition and coalition, but is intended simply to relieve Sa'ar of his parliamentary duties.
Sa'ar ran in the past election in the National Unity list, led by MK Benny Gantz. The party won 12 seats, but Sa'ar's four MKs seceded from it in March 2024.
The list's numbers 13 and 14, Eytan Ginzburg and Yael Ron Ben-Moshe, both part of Gantz's faction, entered the Knesset due to the resignation last week of MKs Gadi Eisenkot and Matan Kahana.
Hasson, a member of Sa'ar's faction, was up next as number 15 on the list, and this is what enabled Sa'ar to resign but for his party to retain its four seats in the Knesset.
Hasson belongs to the Israeli Druze community. In a statement accompanying his resignation, Sa'ar said that it was "very important" for him to "strengthen the representation in the Knesset of the loyal and courageous Druze community, with whom we share a destiny."
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
