By Said Amori
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Knesset member Gideon Sa'ar said Saturday he will not take the post of defense minister, which was offered to him by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli media reported early this week that Netanyahu was negotiating with Sa’ar, who is the head of the New Hope Party, to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Sa’ar told Netanyahu that he was not interested in succeeding Gallant if he were removed, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Disagreements between Netanyahu and Gallant have surfaced concerning the government's approach to growing border escalation with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as Gallant advocates exhausting diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, while Netanyahu is pushing for a large-scale military campaign.
Sa'ar, a former member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, was part of the emergency government formed at the start of the war in the Gaza Strip but withdrew in March after he was not included in the War Cabinet.
Israel is on high alert amid anticipation of an imminent response from Hezbollah for Friday’s deadly attack that killed at least 38 people, including children and women, and injured dozens in Beirut’s southern suburb.
Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in the Israeli strike.
The attack came two days after at least 37 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured in two waves of wireless communication device explosions across Lebanon.
While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has not denied or confirmed its involvement.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,400 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala