The Prime Minister’s Office would not comment on Thursday on reports that Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s top aide Ron Dermer had decided to step down and
will leave his job following US President Barack Obama’s scheduled visit at the
end of March.
A Ma’ariv report on Dermer’s likely departure came just
days after another key Netanyahu confidant, cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser,
announced he would be leaving office once a new government was sworn
in.
Dermer enjoys a close relationship with the prime minister, and has
served as one of his central advisers since Netanyahu began his second term as
prime minister in 2009.
The 42-year-old Dermer’s interest in stepping
down is believed to have to do with the non-stop rigor of the job and a desire
to spend more time with his family – he has four small sons and a another child
on the way – and not to any policy disagreements with the prime
minister.
Dermer’s name was raised recently as a possible replacement for
Michael Oren as the next ambassador to Washington.
When asked last month
by The Jerusalem Post whether Dermer would be named ambassador to the US,
Netanyahu replied, however, “I have not yet made any decision to that effect.”
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