Netanyahu: No portfolio appointments until after US trip
PM has offered interior minister post to Gilad Erdan, tells cabinet that other decisions will have to wait
In a cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would not make any portfolio appointments until he returns from a trip to the US early next month.
Netanyahu already offered Communications Minister Gilad Erdan the position of interior minister shortly after current minister Gideon Sa’ar announced his departure from politics last Wednesday.
Erdan reportedly asked the prime minister for some time to consider the offer. He has been said for some time to be weighing an alternative offer — to be appointed Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, a post he turned down several years ago. Erdan is expected to make a decision by the end of the week.
Netanyahu said that final decisions regarding the ministerial shuffle would have to wait until he returns from his upcoming trip to the US, where he will be addressing the United Nations General Assembly.
“I heard that there has been an uproar concerning the appointments,” Netanyahu told his ministers. “When I return from the US, whoever would like to meet me in regards to this matter is welcome.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to the US Saturday night and return next Friday, ahead of Yom Kippur.