The title of international affairs minister that the Likud’s Yuval Steinitz
received could be a stepping stone to the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu reassured Steinitz this week, Likud sources revealed
exclusively to The Jerusalem Post Tuesday.
The sources said that at a
marathon meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, in which Steinitz let Silvan Shalom
have the Energy and Water Ministry, Steinitz raised the issue of what would
happen if Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman is
convicted.
Currently, Netanyahu is holding the Foreign Affairs portfolio
for Liberman, hoping he will be cleared of corruption charges. A verdict in the
Liberman case is expected as early as July.
If Liberman is convicted,
multiple Likud ministers will seek the Foreign Ministry, including Steinitz,
Gideon Sa’ar, Gilad Erdan, and Shalom, who held the post under former prime
minister Ariel Sharon. But Likud sources said Netanyahu’s mind was made up, and
he made clear to Steinitz that the job would be his.
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