Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) will serve as foreign minister until a new government is established after the April 9 Knesset election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday.
Netanyahu has kept the foreign affairs portfolio for himself since the start of his current term in 2015.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice in protest of the number of ministerial portfolios Netanyahu had retained for himself – which at various points have included foreign affairs, defense, communications, health, and immigration and absorption. The watchdog group argued that by retaining so many portfolios, Netanyahu was harming the public good.
On Thursday, the state submitted a response to the petition and said that the prime minister would appoint an interim foreign minister and present the appointment for approval at Sunday's cabinet meeting.
The Movement for Quality Government said in response to the decision: "We welcome the appointment, which came only after the sword of possible Supreme Court legal proceedings was brandished, and we hope that it [the appointment] is carried out.
"In our opinion, it would have been more appropriate for the prime minister not to have gotten into a situation in which he held so many important portfolios – including foreign affairs and defense – at once, and we hope that this unacceptable practice, which the prime minister adopted from the start of his term, will not repeat itself," the group said.
Katz, who was elected to the No. 2 spot on the Likud list in the party primaries on Feb. 5, will retain the transportation and intelligence portfolios.
