Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said he sees the head of the Mossad intelligence agency or Israel’s ambassador to the United States as his prospective successor after he bows out of political life, according to a report on Thursday.
“There are two people I consider fit to lead the State of Israel — Yossi Cohen and Ron Dermer,” Netanyahu was quoted by the Walla news site as telling his associates, in a rare comment on the country’s future leadership after his retirement.
Political sources who overheard the comment told Walla they were surprised no Likud bigwigs, such as popular MK Gideon Sa’ar or Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan — or any other politicians for that matter — made the list.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, says he has no plans to leave his post despite looming criminal indictments against him. He has long been accused of sidelining prospective rivals within the Likud party who could threaten his leadership. READ MORE
