Former senior Likud party official and cabinet minister, Gideon Saar, has announced his comeback following a break from politics.

Saar announced on Monday evening 7 Nissan that his two-and-a-half-year hiatus from political life was over and he is back. He took the political community by surprise when he announced he was resigning from his post as Interior Minister and taking a break from political life.

He left while serving as a cabinet minister, at the height of popularity, holding the second slot on the Likud lineup. He was viewed by many as the natural replacement for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when the latter deicides to step down.

He explained that he took the necessary break to be with family and contemplate the future and now, “even if it disappoints some”, he is back to strengthen Likud and to prepare the party for future challenges.

When asked if he plans to challenge PM Netanyahu for the party leadership spot, Saar declined to respond.

He spoke of the party’s need to stand firmly against increasing pressure to return to the pre-1967 boundaries to permit the establishment of the State of Palestine, stating the party has always championed defending Eretz Yisrael and its boundaries.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)