The Israeli Prime Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed an interim Foreign Minister after holding the post for the last four years.
Mr Netanyahu announced yesterday that Transport Minister Mr Israel Katz will serve as Israeli top diplomat until the formation of a new government after the country’s forthcoming elections in April.
Mr Katz said the move marked an exciting moment, adding that he will continue to promote and lead the Israeli foreign policy to further achievements, alongside the Prime Minister.
The sixty-three-year-old Mr Katz holds right-wing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has said that conditions are not in place now for a two-state solution.
He recently finished first among serving Ministers in Israeli ruling Likud party primaries, and the upgrade solidifies his position as Mr Netanyahu’s top deputy and potential successor having said in the past that he will run for the post of Prime Minister after Mr Netanyahu steps down.
Mr Netanyahu has faced criticisms for keeping major Ministerial roles for himself, which grew louder when he added the role of the Defence Minister to his responsibilities after Avigdor Liberman resigned in November.
His decision to relinquish the foreign ministry charge comes after a Jerusalem-based Non-governmental Organization, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, petitioned the High Court of Justice over the number of portfolios he holds.
Prime Minister Netanyahu aged sixty-nine, who is widely expected to be re-elected in the Israeli April ninth election, also holds the health ministry portfolio.
He is currently under police investigations for several cases of alleged corruption.
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