BICOM

Senior Likud MK Gilad Erdan eventually agreed to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet yesterday, in a move which will cool an apparent confrontation between the two.

Erdan failed to secure a ministerial portfolio of his liking in Netanyahu’s new government earlier this month. Erdan topped the internal Likud primary prior to March’s general election and had hoped to become either Foreign Minister or be appointed both Interior Minister and Public Security Minister. However, when Netanyahu refused to meet his demands, Erdan resolved to sit on the Knesset backbenches. He publicly appeared last week alongside former-Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar, considered an opponent of Netanyahu and then pledged to push legislation over monopolies in the communications market, which appeared to clash with Netanyahu’s wishes.

However, it was announced yesterday that Erdan had agreed to become Public Security Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister, handing him a place in Netanyahu’s security cabinet. Ministers approved the appointment, which passed a Knesset vote by a margin of 58-55, before Erdan was sworn into office in the plenum. However, Erdan’s appointment appears likely to spark resentment among other senior Likud figures. Yariv Levin had been handed the public security portfolio, while Ze’ev Elkin who had agreed to head the Strategic Affairs Ministry, told Haaretz that he would act “like a minister who has been fired.”

Erdan will also oversee Israel’s public diplomacy, commenting, “As part of my job I will contend in the international arena with actions against the State of Israel.” He will also be in charge of efforts to combat Iran’s nuclear development, a role previously held by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who according to Israel Radio, fumed at the development. Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin will also step down to make room for Erdan.

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed yesterday that former Ambassador to the United Nations and long-time Netanyahu advisor Dore Gold will become Director General of the Foreign Ministry. Gold currently heads the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs think tank.

In an interview for BICOM’s quarterly journal Fathom in February, Gold acknowledged the need for diplomatic progress after the elections, saying, “New initiatives will have to be taken after the Israeli elections, but the prime minister has hinted at a changed environment in the Middle East which could be a source of optimism.”