Government Approves Sa’ar as Interior Minister in Addition to Foreign Ministry

Israel's government on Wednesday, 11 November, approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to appoint Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar as interior minister, the Interior Ministry announced. Sa'ar keeps the foreign affairs portfolio and takes on the second ministry alongside it, filling a post that had gone more than a year without a serving minister. "I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the trust," Sa'ar said in the ministry's announcement. He added that he knew the ministry well from his earlier term there and that, "after more than a year without a serving minister, I will focus on providing practical answers to urgent and important issues." Sa'ar was interior minister in 2013 and 2014 and has also served as education minister and justice minister. The ministry's management and staff congratulated him and wished him success in leading its work for local authorities and the country's residents. When Likud announced the plan on Tuesday, it said Netanyahu had first offered the post to MK Ofir Katz, who declined so that he could coordinate the moves of Netanyahu's camp in the Knesset. Opposition MK Gilad Kariv of The Democrats mocked the move the same day, writing that after Netanyahu had wrecked Israel's foreign relations around the world, there was indeed no need for a full-time foreign minister. Moshe Arbel resigned as interior minister in July 2025 amid the crisis over exemptions from military service, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin held the post for a few months before it was left empty. During the vacancy, the government transferred dozens of the interior minister's powers to the prime minister; the ministry oversees the voters' register and soldiers' voting, immigration and citizenship, entry to Israel, local government, municipal property tax and planning and building. In August, responding to a petition by the Movement for Quality Government, the state told the High Court of Justice that Netanyahu intended to appoint an interior minister during the election period. Because Netanyahu heads a transitional government, the appointment does not require Knesset approval. It is temporary and would end if a new government is formed.