Cabinet set to vote Sunday on replacing Eli Cohen with Israel Katz as FM
Per internal Likud agreement, foreign minister will swap roles with energy minister; Cohen says rotation is ‘strange’ during a war, but respects it
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
The cabinet is set to approve the replacement of Eli Cohen with Israel Katz as foreign minister on Sunday, in accordance with an internal Likud rotation agreement signed last year before the establishment of the current emergency war government.
Cohen, who has served as foreign minister since the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in a year ago, will replace Katz as energy minister for two years before swapping again for the final year of the government’s term in 2026 — assuming it lasts that long.
Both ministers will remain members of the security cabinet. They are expected to switch roles on January 1.
“The rotation of a year, two years and another year is strange, especially during a war. But as I told you, I respect agreements,” Cohen told Kan news Thursday.
The switch is set to occur at a crucial time for the role of Israel’s top diplomat, who must maintain Jerusalem’s international ties and represent the country on the world stage amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Cohen recently traveled to Cyprus to discuss plans to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through a special maritime corridor from the Mediterranean Island.
Before the war, Cohen was part of an effort to establish ties with Saudi Arabia, which he claimed in September may have been months away.
Since the outbreak of the war — which began after Hamas-led terrorists massacred 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, most of them civilians, and abducted 240 — the talks have been frozen. But Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has indicated that it would be possible to continue the efforts when the fighting ends.
The rotation deal was clinched because Katz, a former foreign and finance minister, also insisted on the foreign minister post as lawmakers jockeyed for positions following the November 2022 elections.
Meeting Netanyahu shortly before roles were decided, Katz reportedly stormed out of the room, refusing to go second in a rotation deal with Cohen. But Katz eventually relented, and agreed to serve as energy minister before swapping seats with Cohen.
