Israel’s government on Sunday agreed to name a new foreign minister, Israel Katz, following through with a political agreement that was in place before the war against Hamas.

Katz, who has been serving as energy minister, is expected to trade places with the current foreign minister, Eli Cohen. Both are members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. To be confirmed, the appointments still require the approval of Israel’s parliament, according to Netanyahu’s office, though that is likely to be a formality.

Cohen has served in the post for a year. The two are supposed to switch roles again, in two years, if Netanyahu’s Right-wing coalition government, which was formed a year ago, remains in power.

Both will remain members of the security cabinet, a forum of senior ministers, Netanyahu’s office said. “This rotation — one year, two years, one year — is weird, especially in wartime,” Cohen said in an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster that aired Thursday. “But I’m someone who respects agreements.”

The last few months of Cohen’s tenure were marked by the Israeli war effort in the Gaza Strip that began after the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel. He has sparred on social media with some foreign leaders and with officials from the UN, saying that they had been insufficiently critical of Hamas. In early December, he announced that he would “revoke the residence visa” of Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.

He has also discussed in public contentious proposals such as reducing Gaza’s territory after the war.

New York Times News Service