תקווה חדשה הימין הממלכתי

New Hope has no platform for 2026, because it runs on the Likud's list, and no statement by Sa'ar or Elkin on how to lower prices was found from the period since the party rejoined the government in September 2024. The search covered a party platform, news coverage of Sa'ar and Elkin, and the Knesset voting database. The documented position comes from three earlier sources inside the 2021–2026 window: the plans the party published for the March 2021 election (they survive only in archived copies of its website), its votes in the 2021–2022 government, and the principles of the National Unity list, which New Hope co-wrote for the November 2022 election. All three point the same way: more competition and easier imports.

• Action: On 4 November 2021 the Knesset passed the Economic Plan Law that accompanied the 2021–2022 budget (this kind of law is known as the Economic Arrangements Law) by 61 votes to 57, with one MK present but not voting. New Hope's six MKs who voted (Benny Begin, Zvi Hauser, Sharren Haskel, Meir Yitzhak-Halevi, Yifat Shasha-Biton and Michal Shir) voted for it ^[116]. According to Globes, the law included rules that bring import requirements into line with European Union standards and a change that opened kosher certification to competition, together with a higher retirement age for women and a congestion charge for the Tel Aviv area from 2025 ^[115]. The same MKs voted for the 2021 budget (61 to 59) on 4 November 2021, and five of them for the 2022 budget (59 to 56) on 5 November 2021 ^[116]. Sa'ar and Elkin were ministers in the government that proposed these laws ^[24]. Neither voted: the Knesset's record shows that Elkin's membership of the Knesset ended on 15 June 2021 and Sa'ar's on 9 July 2021, after they became ministers ^{[23, 121]}.
• Action: On 24 November and 1 December 2021 the party's MKs who voted opposed opposition bills to raise child allowances and to raise the disability allowance to the level of the minimum wage (details under Track record) ^{[82, 84]}. In June 2022 Sa'ar said of such votes: "There have been a lot of well-intentioned social bills that benefit the citizens and we would like to vote for them, but there is coalition discipline and there are budget constraints, so we could not" ^[89].
• Formal commitment (National Unity principles, 2022; written jointly with Blue and White before New Hope left the list on 12 March 2024): "We will advance a comprehensive economic plan that combines a free economy with social justice and includes reforms to open the Israeli market to competition and imports, removing barriers and reducing unnecessary protective walls, in order to lower the cost of living" ^{[117, 5]}.
• Formal commitment (plan for the March 2021 election, archived copy): The party's plan "Hope for lowering the cost of living" listed nine steps. The first was to "reduce the power of the big monopolies in the food market" and to let any business import goods that meet European standards. Others were to close the local water corporations, which the plan said would cut water prices by about 17%; to set up a single food and import authority; to increase competition among banks; to cut the price of electricity by 25% within four years through new gas agreements and competition among private suppliers; to open postal services to competitors; to update the basket of price-controlled foods so that it favours healthier products; to give the Consumer Protection Authority more power to punish businesses; and to teach financial and consumer education in schools ^[83]. Its five-point economic plan promised to "open the Israeli market to competition by lowering import barriers" and to cut bureaucracy, in order to "increase competition and lower the cost of living for the Israeli consumer" ^[83].
• Action: The faction's MKs, Sa'ar included, voted for the Economic Efficiency Law for the 2025 budget year, which froze tax updates and set a surtax. It passed its final reading on 24 December 2024 ^{[42, 43]}. All four voted for the 2025 state budget, which passed by 66 to 52 on 25 March 2025 (the Knesset record files the vote under the sitting of 24 March) ^{[39, 40, 76]}. The faction's MKs also voted for the 2026 budget and the 2026 Economic Efficiency Law on 30 March 2026 ^{[39, 40, 42, 43]}.
• Statement: In September 2025 MK Sharren Haskel said she supports capitalism, lower taxes and deregulation. She was then New Hope's third-ranking member ^{[10, 12]}. She has since left to found Israel First ^[13], so this is not a current party position.

Closest option(s): Tentative: opening the market to more competition and easier imports (open-market-competition-imports). This rests on the party's 2021 plan, its MKs' vote for the November 2021 import reform and the 2022 National Unity principles ^{[83, 115, 116, 117]}. None of this evidence dates from the period since September 2024, when the party's recorded actions on the economy are its votes for the government's budgets ^{[39, 42]}. The 2021 plan's wider powers for the Consumer Protection Authority also touch on state regulation (active-state-regulation), but that is a small part of the plan.

No current New Hope platform or leadership statement was found on the Shin Bet plan, on holding crime suspects without trial, or on funding for Arab communities. The search covered news coverage of Sa'ar, Elkin, Buskila and Hasson and the Knesset voting database for crime-related bills between 2021 and 2026. The party's record has two parts: what Sa'ar did as justice minister in 2021–2022, and a few Knesset votes since 2024.

As justice minister, 2021–2022. Sa'ar's measures were changes to criminal law and police powers. The laws apply to everyone in Israel; the government presented them as part of its response to crime in Arab society ^{[94, 96, 98]}.

• Action: On 7 December 2021 the Knesset passed a temporary amendment to the Penal Law (Amendment No. 140) that sets a minimum sentence, a quarter of the maximum sentence, for holding, carrying or trading in illegal weapons, except in special cases ^{[94, 95]}. The bill was proposed by New Hope MK Sharren Haskel ^[94]. Sa'ar welcomed its passage and said the party was fulfilling an election promise to deal with illegal weapons: "Punishments that deter are needed to deal with the national scourge of illegal weapons" ^[94].
• Action: On 17 October 2021 the government approved a bill, tabled by Sa'ar, to let the police search a home without a court warrant where there is probable cause of a serious crime, such as extortion or the use of illegal weapons, and a concern that evidence will be destroyed. It was drafted as a temporary measure. Sa'ar said: "The police must be given the best possible tools to succeed in their mission to end the violence. The right to life is also a human right and I will bring more legislation until we end the crime wave" ^[96]. The bill passed its first reading on 13 December 2021 by 60 votes to 58, with all six New Hope MKs who voted in favour ^[97]. It did not become law: the Knesset's record shows it still in committee, being prepared for its final readings, when the 24th Knesset ended ^[93].
• Action: On 9 May 2022 a government bill promoted by Sa'ar passed its first reading by 18 votes to none. According to the Times of Israel, it would raise the prison term for offences involving a weapon that contains substantial parts of a conventional weapon from three to five years, and for buying a weapon from seven to ten years. Sa'ar said that "one of the characteristics and causes of the crime phenomenon in Arab society is the availability of weapons of various kinds on a large scale" ^{[97, 98]}. The Knesset's record shows the government bill still in committee when the 24th Knesset ended ^[93]. The law that was published in July 2022 under the name "Penal Law (Amendment No. 143 and Temporary Provision)" is a different one: it grew out of a private member's bill and deals with offences against children and helpless persons in educational and care settings, not with weapons ^[128].
• Action: On 11 May 2022 the six New Hope MKs who voted opposed an opposition bill to set minimum sentences for weapons offences, which was defeated 53–61 ^[82]. The party's own minimum-sentence law had been in force since December 2021 ^{[94, 95]}.
• Formal commitment (National Unity principles, 2022; written jointly with Blue and White before the split of 12 March 2024): the list pledged to "fight consistently and systematically against crime organizations, protection rackets and the holding of illegal weapons", and to fight violence in Arab society ^[117].
• No statement by Sa'ar or Elkin was found on whether the Shin Bet should investigate crime organizations, or on funding for Arab communities as a way to reduce crime.

Knesset votes since 2024.

• Action: On 10 December 2025 the Knesset held preliminary readings on two crime bills. Elkin, Haskel and Hasson voted against a bill by MK Merav Cohen to combat weapons smuggling, which was rejected by 52 votes to 26 with four MKs present but not voting. They voted for the Special Powers to Combat Crime Organizations (Temporary Provisions) bill by Tzvika Fogel, chair of the Knesset's National Security Committee, which passed by 54 votes to 41 ^{[39, 40, 65, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74]}. Maariv described Fogel's bill as resting on declaring crime organizations to be terror organizations, after which the police and the Shin Bet could use technological and investigative tools that only the Shin Bet now has ^[64].
• Action: In May 2024, while New Hope was in opposition, Haskel voted in a preliminary reading for the bill on protecting the public from crime organizations ^{[39, 40]}. The law that passed lets courts restrict the movement and contacts of members of crime organizations, at the police's request and with the attorney general's approval ^[44]. No New Hope vote is recorded on its final reading in December 2024, or on a July 2026 crime-organization bill ^{[39, 40]}.
• As ministers, Sa'ar and Elkin belong to the government that runs crime policy. No source was found that records how they voted on any specific crime-related government decision.

Closest option(s): Tentative. The whole record is about enforcement: tougher sentences and wider powers for the police. As justice minister in 2021–2022 Sa'ar worked through criminal law and police powers, and none of the sources opened shows him proposing a role for the Shin Bet or detention without trial. That is closest to more-police-resources-normal-law, although his bill on searches without a warrant went further than that option's "no special powers" ^{[94, 96, 97]}. The most recent action, the December 2025 vote for a bill giving the police and the Shin Bet counter-terrorism tools against crime organizations, is closest to using extraordinary measures (emergency-powers-shin-bet) ^{[64, 71]}. No party statement explains that vote. No evidence was found that the party puts investment in Arab communities first.

Statement: Sa'ar's line as foreign minister has been to support US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza while insisting that Hamas disarm first. On 23 October 2025 he said "Israel is committed to working towards the success of President Trump's plan". He also said "Hamas and Islamic Jihad must lay down their arms. Gaza must be demilitarized… This is at the heart of the Trump plan. We will not compromise on it" and warned that attacks on Israeli forces "will be answered forcefully" ^[48].

Statement: On 14 July 2025 Sa'ar told Euronews that Israel has no intention of controlling Gaza in the long term and has "only security concerns" there. He said Hamas "cannot be part of the future of Gaza", but that "if Hamas is ready to lay down its arms… we can do it on a political path". He described the Palestinian Authority as still sponsoring terrorism and incitement ^[47].

Statement: In September 2026, at a press conference in Ljubljana, Sa'ar said: "We are not planning to expel or to deport anyone from [the] Gaza Strip. If someone wants to immigrate of his own will, and there is a country which is ready to accept him… we will not oppose that. But we will not force anyone against his will." ^[49] According to the Times of Israel, he spoke after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had presented a plan to encourage voluntary emigration from Gaza ^[49].

Action: In January 2025 the government approved the hostage-release and ceasefire deal by 24 votes to 8. The ministers who voted against came from Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, plus Likud ministers David Amsalem and Amichai Chikli ^[50]. Sa'ar, then foreign minister, is not among the ministers the report names as voting against.

Earlier statement: When Sa'ar left the coalition in March 2024, he argued that Hamas's military power should have been destroyed "on a faster schedule". He also said that Hamas's control of aid distribution undermined the effort to bring it down ^[6].

Statement: In July 2025 Elkin did not sign a letter by 22 ministers and MKs that asked for a settlement group to be allowed to tour northern Gaza. He told Kan news that "the most painful thing for our enemy is losing land", and that making clear to Hamas that "they will lose land that they will never get back" would be "a significant pressure tool" ^[56]. The search found no statement by Sa'ar or Elkin calling for settlement in Gaza.

Closest option(s): Move forward with the US plan, with an international arrangement, while Hamas is disarmed (advance-international-arrangement). The repeated condition that Hamas disarm before anything else, and the refusal to give the Palestinian Authority a role, also overlap with keeping pressure until disarmament (hold-positions-disarmament-first). The evidence is mostly statements.

Statement: In June 2024, while in opposition, Sa'ar said of the government's enlistment bill: "if we cannot legislate a good law, it's better not to legislate a law at all". According to the Times of Israel, he had repeatedly promised to oppose bills on Haredi enlistment that he considered exemption measures ^[9].

Formal commitment / Action: The November 2024 coalition agreement between New Hope and the Likud lets the party vote differently from the coalition on only two subjects: medical cannabis and changes to the judicial system. Bills on Haredi enlistment are not on that list ^[9].

Action: On 14 July 2026 the Knesset passed, 58 to 54, a temporary amendment to the Security Service Law (Amendment 28). It suspends arrest, investigation and enforcement against yeshiva students required to serve, until 30 November 2026. This applies on condition that they study at least 45 hours a week (40 for kollel students) ^[31]. A kollel is a yeshiva for married men. In the final reading Ze'ev Elkin, Michel Buskila and Akram Hasson voted for and Sharren Haskel voted against ^{[29, 30]}. Haskel then resigned as deputy foreign minister, saying she "can no longer support a government that harms the security of the country during wartime" ^[13]. The High Court of Justice froze the law the next day and struck it down on 3 September 2026 ^[79].

Action: The New Hope MKs (Elkin, Buskila, Hasson and Haskel) voted for the temporary law that extends men's mandatory service from 30 to 32 months, which passed in July 2026 ^{[29, 30, 31]}.

Action: Elkin, Buskila and Hasson voted for "Basic Law: Torah Study", which passed its final reading on 13 July 2026. It declares Torah study "a foundational value" of the Jewish people and the state. Haskel voted against it in earlier readings ^{[29, 30, 35]}.

Change over time: In January 2022, when New Hope sat in the Bennett–Lapid coalition and Sa'ar was justice minister, the government's enlistment bill passed its first reading 51–48 with the votes of New Hope MKs, among them Haskel; Sa'ar and Elkin did not vote, because both had left the Knesset after becoming ministers ^{[23, 121]}. On 11 June 2024, when the party was in the opposition, Sa'ar, Elkin and Haskel voted against reviving the same bill, which the Knesset did by 63–57 ^[81]. The two votes were cast in different Knessets, the first as part of the coalition and the second in the opposition, with the October 7 attack and the war in between. Sa'ar's stated view in June 2024 was that it is better to pass no law than a bad one ^[9].

Change over time: In June 2024, in opposition, Sa'ar promised to oppose enlistment bills he saw as exemption measures and said a bad law was worse than none ^[9]. In the November 2024 coalition agreement the party gave up the right to vote differently from the coalition on enlistment bills ^[9]. In July 2026 the New Hope MKs who remained with him voted for the law suspending arrests of yeshiva students who were required to serve ^{[29, 30, 31]}. Sa'ar himself was no longer an MK and didn't vote ^[20]. The votes followed the coalition line set in that agreement, 20 months after the party had publicly given up its earlier position.

Closest option(s): The evidence is mixed. Sa'ar's 2024 statements are closest to requiring service with sanctions (universal-service-with-sanctions). The faction's 2026 votes, for suspending enforcement against yeshiva students and for the Torah-study basic law, are closer to anchor-torah-study-exemption. Per the evidence ranking, the more recent actions carry more weight.

No current New Hope platform or party decision on how to make housing cheaper was found. The search covered a platform, news coverage of Elkin and Sa'ar, and the Knesset voting database. The documented record comes from Ze'ev Elkin, who was construction and housing minister from June 2021 to December 2022 ^{[24, 111]}, and from his later work as a minister in the Finance Ministry.

What the party promised before the 2021 election.

• Formal commitment (plan for the March 2021 election, archived copy): "New Hope's Plan for Housing" had five points: a single "National Housing Ministry" bringing together the planning, land and housing bodies; urban renewal of 5,000 buildings in five years, with an emphasis on the periphery; 100,000 rental apartments within ten years through an organised long-term rental market; cutting the time from marketing land to occupancy by 30% within four years; and a national plan for a first apartment for young couples and families ^[83].

What Elkin said on taking office.

• Statement: In June 2021, shortly after becoming housing minister, Elkin warned that housing prices would keep rising. He said "we must get back to a higher rate of housing unit planning", backed extending the work of the National Committee for Planning and Building Preferred Housing Sites (a fast-track planning committee), and supported continuing National Outline Plan 38, which allows extra floors on buildings reinforced against earthquakes. He also said local authorities needed to know that promised transport projects would be built. According to Globes, the government had committed in the coalition talks to approving the planning of 300,000 housing units ^[62].

What he did as housing minister, 2021–2022.

• Action (fast-track planning): In August 2021 the Knesset extended the fast-track planning route for preferred housing sites by four more years. The law also widened the committee's powers over urban-renewal sites, over planning in Arab, Druze and Circassian communities and in housing sites meant for the Haredi public, and over sites near mass-transit stations ^[95].
• Action (discounted homes for first-time buyers): On 9 September 2021 the Israel Land Council approved Elkin's program "Target Price 2.1". Under it, state land is sold to builders on condition that a set share of the homes is sold to eligible buyers, such as first-time buyers and young families, at a 20% discount of up to NIS 300,000. Buyers in national priority areas get a further grant of NIS 40,000, and local residents get priority for a share of the homes. According to Globes, land at the reduced price is sold only in cities where the average price is up to NIS 20,000 per square metre and in cities that rank four or lower on the Central Bureau of Statistics' socio-economic scale ^{[106, 107]}. The first lottery opened on 20 March 2022 with 10,028 homes in 31 cities, and the ministry said about 30,000 would be offered during the year ^[107]. Elkin said in 2023 that almost 30,000 homes were drawn in 2022, against about 3,000 a year before he took office ^[111].
• Action (the government housing plan for 2022–2025): On 31 October 2021 Elkin, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked presented a joint plan. Its targets for the four years were 280,000 housing starts, planning for 500,000 new homes, and tenders for 300,000 homes on state land. It set aside about NIS 8 billion for infrastructure that supports housing, about NIS 5.5 billion for kindergartens and schools, and more than NIS 2 billion for planning and development in Arab society. Its reforms included extending the fast-track committee, faster urban renewal, converting offices into homes, quicker permits, and raising the purchase tax on an additional home to 8%. Elkin called it "a comprehensive plan and not a magic solution of one step", and said the state would give up between NIS 12 and 20 billion in land income for Target Price ^[105]. The purchase tax on second and further homes rose from 5% to 8% in late November 2021 ^[113].
• Action (public housing): In November 2021 Elkin and the chair of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee presented an arrangement under which no forced evictions from public housing would be carried out until a team had finished setting criteria for them ^[112]. In the same month the party's MKs who voted opposed an opposition bill to enlarge the public-housing stock (see Track record) ^[82].
• Statement (Elkin's account of his rental policy): Elkin said in 2023 that in his term the ministry promoted long-term rental homes at a fixed, index-linked rent, both through the government company Dira Lehaskir ("Apartment for Rent") and on private land through tax benefits passed in the Economic Arrangements Law. He said a second reform, a tax benefit for private owners who let a home for at least five years at a fixed, index-linked rent, was at an advanced stage when he left office and was not adopted by his successor ^[111]. This is Elkin's own account; it was not checked against an official record.

Results in his term.

• Housing starts reached 63,300 in 2021, the highest figure since 1995, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics; 12,760 of them were in the government's discounted-price program ^[109]. In the twelve months to September 2022 there were 70,250 starts, slightly below a peak of 72,540 in the twelve months to June 2022 ^[110].
• Prices kept rising. Home prices rose 13% in 2021 ^[107], and according to Nadlan Center, a real-estate news site, the rise reached a rate of about 20% a year at its peak during his term ^[111]. The Times of Israel reported in April 2022 that the coalition had committed to limiting the rise in 2022 to 6% ^[113].
• Statement: In March 2022 Elkin said: "The government does not have control over housing prices but it does have control of certain elements of the market." He said the state was now marketing land for 100,000 homes a year, against 50,000 in the year before, and that several such years were needed to close the gap ^[108]. In 2023 he attributed the price rise to the low level of land marketing in 2019–2020 and described the increase in supply as the main achievement of his term ^[111].

Since 2023.

• Statement: In September 2023 Elkin said the root of the solution is to increase supply dramatically. He supported keeping Target Price and objected to a decision taken under his successor that made the discounts smaller. He also proposed that the state spread developers' payments for land, because many land tenders were failing, and called for a working model of long-term rental ^[111].
• Action: As the Finance Ministry minister for rebuilding the north and south, Elkin led a government plan approved on 16 April 2026. It invests nearly NIS 1 billion over five years in the Golan Heights, including housing construction, and turns Katzrin into a city. He said its aim was "to bring in thousands of new families" ^[59]. He also heads the directorate for rebuilding the north after the war ^[57]. In March 2025 he backed the Tekuma law, which commits state support to the Gaza border area through 2028 ^[58]. These steps develop outlying regions, but they aren't presented as a housing-price policy.

Closest option(s): Tentative for the party today: building much more, faster (speed-up-planning-and-construction), together with direct help for buyers through discounted homes (direct-help-for-buyers). Both rest on the party's 2021 plan, on what Elkin did as housing minister in 2021–2022 and on what he said in 2023, not on a current party platform ^{[83, 105, 106, 107, 111]}. His 2026 Golan plan also fits developing the periphery (develop-periphery-and-transport) ^[59]. His steps on long-term rental at index-linked rents overlap in part with state-led-affordable-rental, but no proposal by him to limit rents in the private market was found ^[111].

Statement: On 10 March 2026, during the war with Iran, Sa'ar said: "We are not looking for an endless war". He also said Israel would continue "until the minute that we and our partners think that is appropriate to stop", in coordination with the United States. He described the aim as removing "existential threats from Iran to Israel" for the long term by targeting Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, and, according to Al-Monitor, creating conditions for regime change ^[51].

Statement: On 2 September 2026 Sa'ar told France 24 that Israel "will not allow" Iran to achieve nuclear weapons. He warned that an Iranian attack would bring a "severe" response ^[52].

Statement: On Lebanon, Sa'ar said in January 2026 that the Lebanese government's and army's efforts to disarm Hezbollah were "far from sufficient… in light of Hezbollah's efforts to rearm and rebuild, with Iranian support" ^[53]. In July 2026 he announced a further round of talks with Lebanon in Rome. It continued a US-brokered framework agreement that provides for disarming Hezbollah and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Israel ties its withdrawal to progress in dismantling Hezbollah's military capabilities ^[54].

Statement: On 30 September 2024 Sa'ar defended the government's escalation against Hezbollah in a Knesset speech. He told the opposition that if its position had been accepted, "Hassan Nasrallah would be alive, and with him, all of Hezbollah's command" ^[8].

Closest option(s): Keep up military pressure while negotiating US-backed deals, such as disarming Hezbollah, and withdraw only once security guarantees are in place (force-plus-us-backed-agreements).

Statement: On 30 April 2026 Sa'ar said Israel does not intend to apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria "at least in the coming months — it is against the path of President Trump's plan". He added that "implementing sovereignty, we will need to do only with the coordination with the United States of America", and that "for now… President Trump doesn't support that". In the same briefing he said the government opposes a Palestinian state and is advancing measures on the ground in the settlements ^[45].

Statement: In September 2026, after the UK moved toward sanctions over the E1 settlement project, Sa'ar warned: "If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain." ^[46] E1 is a plan of about 3,000 homes east of Jerusalem.

Statement: In July 2025 Sa'ar described the Palestinian Authority as still sponsoring terrorism and incitement ^[47].

Action (Knesset votes):

• On 23 July 2025 all four New Hope MKs (Elkin, Haskel, Buskila and Hasson) voted for the summary motion of coalition whip Ofir Katz, which was adopted, in a Knesset debate titled "Applying sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley" ^{[32, 33]}.
• On 22 January 2025 Buskila voted against a preliminary reading of a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley ^{[32, 33]}.
• On 31 December 2025 Elkin and Hasson voted against a preliminary reading of a bill to apply sovereignty to the settlement of Beitar Illit ^{[32, 33]}.
• No New Hope MK's vote is recorded on the 22 October 2025 preliminary readings of bills to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and to Ma'ale Adumim ^{[32, 33]}.

Action (in the 2021–2022 government): As justice minister, Sa'ar led the bill to renew the emergency regulations that extend parts of Israeli law to Israelis living in the settlements. On 6 June 2022 the Knesset rejected it by 58 votes to 52; all six New Hope MKs who voted were in favour ^[104]. According to the Times of Israel, the bill was blocked by the opposition together with coalition MKs from other parties who broke coalition discipline ^[89]. Sa'ar said that without the law "it will be as if Judea and Samaria are being separated from the State of Israel. This is a legal disengagement" ^[89]. In November 2021 Elkin, as housing minister, said he was preparing a multi-year plan for about 1,500 more households in the existing Jordan Valley settlements, that he was building "wherever it is possible to build", in Judea and Samaria too, and that the government "was not formed as the government of a freeze in Judea and Samaria" ^[112]. No record of whether the Jordan Valley plan was approved was found.

Contradiction: The New Hope MKs voted in July 2025 for the motion adopted in the debate on applying sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley ^{[32, 33]}. But in December 2025 they voted against a bill to apply sovereignty to Beitar Illit ^{[32, 33]}. It was a bill by Yisrael Beytenu MKs, which was in the opposition, and the New Hope MKs voted with the coalition ^{[77, 78, 74]}. Sa'ar has said sovereignty would be applied only in coordination with the United States and not in the coming months ^[45].

Change over time: In January 2025, before the July 2025 motion, the New Hope MKs had voted with the coalition against a Yisrael Beytenu bill to apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley ^{[32, 33, 77, 78, 74]}.

Closest option(s): Keep the current situation, with no Palestinian state and continued settlement, and no sovereignty for now (maintain-current-situation). Sa'ar describes sovereignty as a possible later step, coordinated with the United States ^[45].

Action: Sa'ar co-authored the compromise with Justice Minister Yariv Levin on the Judicial Selection Committee, the body that picks judges. It was presented on 9 January 2025 ^[28]. Under it, the committee is made up of three coalition representatives, one opposition representative, three judges and two lawyers, one chosen by the coalition and one by the opposition. According to Globes, a Supreme Court appointment needs support from both the coalition and the opposition ^[28]. The Knesset passed it on 27 March 2025, after the opposition boycotted the vote, and it takes effect when the next Knesset begins ^[27]. It was passed as two laws: the amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary (Amendment No. 4), by 67 votes to 1 with two MKs present but not voting, and the Courts Law (Amendment No. 105), by 64 votes to none with one MK present but not voting. Sa'ar, Elkin, Haskel and Buskila voted for both ^{[26, 68, 69]}. The Times of Israel reported that the March 2025 merger agreement cost Sa'ar his freedom to vote differently from the coalition on judicial legislation ^[10].

Action: On 15 July 2026 the Knesset passed the Government Legal Adviser Law (Legal Opinions, Representation and Supervision). Under this law the government may decide that the attorney general's opinions are not binding, except in criminal matters. It may also hire other lawyers to represent its position in court. The law takes effect on 1 January 2027 ^[34]. Elkin, Hasson, Buskila and Haskel voted for it in the final reading ^{[32, 33]}.

Action: In October 2025 all four New Hope MKs voted in a preliminary reading for a bill to split the attorney general's role ^{[32, 33]}. On 2 June 2026 they voted for the Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor bill in its first reading ^{[32, 33]}.

Action (as justice minister, 2021–2022): Sa'ar's term at the Justice Ministry is set out item by item under Track record. In short: four Supreme Court justices were appointed in February 2022, two of them described by the Jerusalem Post as moderate conservatives ^{[99, 100]}; the government appointed Gali Baharav-Miara, Sa'ar's preferred candidate, as attorney general ^[101]; Sa'ar said he intended to split the attorney general's role, but no government bill to do so was found in that Knesset's records ^{[101, 102]}; and a law letting courts reject evidence that was obtained illegally was passed ^{[95, 103]}.

Statement: According to the Jerusalem Post, Sa'ar and Levin pitched their 2025 compromise as "evolutionary and not revolutionary" ^[63].

Closest option(s): The party's votes since 2025 support continuing the changes, giving elected officials more say over judicial appointments and making the attorney general's opinions non-binding (continue-judicial-changes). The judicial-selection law itself was framed as a compromise with an opposition veto over Supreme Court appointments ^{[27, 28]}.

Action (in opposition, 2024): On 17 July 2024, while New Hope was in opposition, Sa'ar, Elkin, Haskel and Buskila voted for two bills to set up a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack. A state commission is the type whose members are picked by the President of the Supreme Court ^{[36, 37]}.

Action (in government, 2025–2026): After rejoining the coalition, every New Hope MK who voted on similar bills voted against them (not every MK voted on every bill):

• a bill on when a state commission of inquiry must be set up, on 19 March 2025;
• three state-commission bills on 12 November 2025;
• three more on 1 July 2026 ^{[36, 37]}.

Action: The coalition's bill, by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, proposes a commission whose members are picked through the Knesset. If the opposition does not cooperate, the Knesset speaker picks them ^[38]. On 24 December 2025 Buskila voted for this bill in its preliminary reading. No vote by Elkin, Haskel or Hasson is recorded ^{[29, 30]}.

Statement: According to the Times of Israel, Ze'ev Elkin cast the only vote against the Kallner bill when the Ministerial Committee for Legislation backed it in December 2025. He warned that if the opposition boycotted, "the coalition would appoint all members of the commission of inquiry, which… would be no different than establishing a government commission of inquiry" ^[38].

Contradiction: In July 2024, in opposition, the party's MKs (Sa'ar included) voted for state commission of inquiry bills ^{[36, 37]}. From 2025 they voted against such bills, and one of them (Buskila) voted for the coalition's commission appointed through the Knesset ^{[29, 30, 36, 37]}. The change followed the party's move from the opposition into the coalition in September 2024 ^[7]; no party statement explaining it was found.

Disagreement inside the party: Elkin opposed the coalition's Knesset-appointed commission bill ^[38], while Buskila voted for it ^{[29, 30]}.

Closest option(s): The evidence is mixed. The party's votes since 2025 are closest to commission-appointed-by-knesset-balance, although Elkin objected to a design that lets the coalition pick all members. Its 2024 votes in opposition matched state-commission-under-existing-law.

Action: Elkin, Buskila and Hasson voted for "Basic Law: Torah Study", which declares Torah study a foundational value. It passed its final reading on 13 July 2026. Haskel voted against it in earlier readings ^{[29, 30, 35]}.

Action: On 19 November 2025 Elkin, Haskel and Hasson voted against two bills to run public transport on Shabbat, in their preliminary reading ^{[39, 40]}.

Action: On 24 March 2026 Elkin, Hasson and Buskila voted for the Religious Courts (Arbitration) Law in its final reading ^{[39, 40]}. The law lets rabbinical and Sharia courts act as arbitrators in civil disputes under religious law, when all parties agree in writing. Family, criminal and administrative matters are excluded. Arbitration decisions cannot override laws protecting fundamental rights such as gender equality ^[41].

Statement: In January 2021 New Hope said it would act for LGBT rights "in deeds, as part of a liberal worldview". On marriage equality, Sa'ar said the party would "hold discussions" before announcing a position ^[55]. No later position on civil marriage was found.

Closest option(s): Mostly keeping the current arrangements (keep-status-quo). The 2026 votes for the Torah-study basic law and religious-court arbitration lean toward a larger role for religion (strengthen-jewish-character). The evidence is mixed.

Statement: As foreign minister, Sa'ar has warned countries against acting over settlements. In September 2026 he said Israel had "tools" and would respond if the UK imposed sanctions over the E1 project ^[46]. He has spoken for the government in the Gaza and Lebanon diplomacy described above ^{[48, 54]}.

Action: The November 2024 coalition agreement gave the Foreign Ministry NIS 545 million for public diplomacy ^[9].

Formal commitment: The November 2024 coalition agreement allows New Hope to vote differently from the coalition on medical cannabis legislation ^[9].

Action: On 5 March 2025 Sa'ar, Elkin, Buskila and Haskel voted in a preliminary reading for a bill to regulate the use of cannabis for medical purposes ^{[39, 40]}.

Statement: In January 2021 the party listed Sa'ar's record on LGBT issues. As interior minister he allowed Jews to immigrate under the Law of Return with same-sex partners. As education minister he recognized volunteering in LGBT youth organizations. The party pledged to act for LGBT rights "in deeds" ^[55]. It didn't commit on same-sex marriage ^[55].

Action: Ze'ev Elkin, as Finance Ministry minister, heads the directorate for rebuilding the north. He said "everything that existed prior to October 7 must be restored", and proposed using the moment to expand the region, for example with universities ^[57]. He backed the Tekuma law, which commits state support to the Gaza border area through 2028 ^[58], and led the April 2026 Golan development plan ^[59].

Action: The New Hope MKs voted for the July 2026 temporary law extending men's regular service from 30 to 32 months through June 2029, with extra payments for affected soldiers ^{[29, 30, 31]}.

Statement: When Sa'ar left the Knesset in July 2025 so that Akram Hasson could take his seat, he said it was "very important" to him "to strengthen the representation in the Knesset of the loyal and courageous Druze community, with whom we share a destiny" ^[20].