Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has identified a successor to eventually lead both his political movement and the country, but he is refusing to reveal the person’s identity or signal when he plans to step aside.
In an interview released this week, the longtime Israeli leader said he has already discussed the matter with the individual, describing the person as capable of carrying forward his agenda after his tenure ends.
“I have someone in mind,” Netanyahu said. “I’ve even spoken to him about it.” However, he declined to identify the individual, adding that he does not want “to designate a time” for his departure.
‘Ready to give the keys’
Netanyahu said he is prepared to eventually hand over leadership but emphasized that he believes his work is not yet finished.
Using a metaphor that quickly drew attention in Israeli media, Netanyahu said he is “ready to give the keys to the country” when the time comes, while stressing that he intends to remain focused on current national security challenges and upcoming elections before making that transition.
As The Times of Israel reports:
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, who has held power nearly uninterrupted since 2009, has so far given no indication that he plans to step down, and is on a campaign footing even as the date of the coming election, which must take place by October 27, has yet to be officially set.
His leadership is set to be a major issue in the election, with his supporters adamant that he remains the best man for the job but many opponents considering him the main culprit responsible for the strategic failures that preceded Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023. On trial for corruption, he is also accused by critics of divisive political conduct and undermining Israel’s democratic institutions.
Netanyahu also indicated in the interview that aired Thursday that plans to encourage Gazans to immigrate from the war-battered enclave, thought to be moribund, were still alive.
“I want Hamas to be demilitarized. I want to make it possible for Gazans who want to choose to live in another place to have that right,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu’s comments come at a difficult political moment. After the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and amid growing public frustration, multiple polls suggest his governing coalition would lose seats if elections were held today, while a majority of Israelis say they want the longtime prime minister to leave politics.
Election fight intensifies
Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as one of Netanyahu’s leading political rivals, while former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has reentered politics at the head of a new electoral alliance, setting the stage for what could become one of Israel’s most competitive elections in years.
Despite the growing political headwinds, Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted he intends to remain in office as Israel confronts ongoing security challenges involving Gaza, Iran and Lebanon.
His latest comments offer one of his clearest acknowledgments yet that he is thinking about who will eventually succeed him, even as he declined to identify his preferred successor or signal when he plans to leave office.
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