Israeli government approves Saar’s appointment as interior minister — Jerusalem Post

The Israeli government has approved the appointment of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar as interior minister. Following this, the public organization Israel Hofsheet appealed to the High Court of Justice, asking it to set a deadline of November 25 for Saar to decide on municipal tax benefits for people who have not regularized their military service status, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Petition over tax benefits

Israel Hofsheet is asking that Saar decide by November 25 whether to amend the rules for granting arnona municipal tax discounts and how to link these benefits to regularizing one’s status with the Israel Defense Forces. The proposed condition would apply to people called up for service who have not regularized their status.

Previously, the government explained the delay by the absence of an interior minister authorized to make the relevant decision. On April 26, the High Court of Justice ruled that the interior minister or an official temporarily exercising the minister’s powers must consider within 35 days whether to amend the rules for granting arnona discounts.

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According to Israel Hofsheet, the deadline expired on May 31 without the necessary decision. The organization noted that preparatory work had already been completed: Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara agreed that the minister could amend the rules, and the Interior Ministry’s legal adviser submitted a draft of the amendments on May 18.

Vacancy at the Interior Ministry

The state’s notice of October 22 said that the matter had not progressed and that a proposal to transfer the powers had not yet been submitted to the government for consideration. Israel Hofsheet is also asking for the state’s position to be provided by November 25, explaining the reasons and, if the rules are changed, specifying the date they will take effect.

Saar will retain the post of foreign minister. The position of interior minister remained vacant after Moshe Arbel’s resignation in July 2025 and the end of Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s temporary appointment in October. During this period, the government delegated separate powers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for urgent decisions, but some decisions that by law fall within the interior minister’s authority could not be made.