Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that he prefers Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to lead the war rather than his former partners in the opposition.

In an interview with Maariv, he said: “Netanyahu is the prime minister; he was elected by the people. When I look at the options today, I can clearly say that it is much better that Netanyahu is leading, with all the criticism I had of him, than Gantz or Lapid. That’s my inner truth and I can’t tell myself another story.”

He admitted that he made a mistake when he resigned from the emergency government during the war together with Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party. “It may have been a mistake, but at that stage, I felt there was stagnation both regarding Gaza and Lebanon, and also because I had no influence, as the war was managed by a small cabinet. That’s why we resigned last March.”

He also explained his decision to return to the government. “The return to the government in September was based on two things: the changed policy and the understanding that I would have an influence on decisions. I had long and discreet conversations with Netanyahu that were not published in the media, during which we spoke about the war and reached the conclusion that in this context we see eye to eye.”

“During this period, I and other political leaders should not be on the podium but rather try to influence and help the State of Israel and the people of Israel. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Sa’ar added: “There are those who have different views from mine, and they would like to use me for the benefit of their worldviews. To those people, I say, if you were counting on the rift between me and Netanyahu, forget about it.”

Regarding his relationship with Netanyahu, he said: “Our relationship is very good. We often meet, we talk a lot, and I am involved and updated on a good level.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)