Yisrael Katz, who currently serves as the Minister of Transportation, Minister of Intelligence, and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet, on Tuesday told radio station FM103, “I intend eventually to run for Prime Minister when Netanyahu finishes his term. I believe that I can be elected and receive the public’s trust. I do my job as Minister in the best possible fashion. When I look at myself, my actions and my outlook on security and politics, I think that I am suitable for the job.”
“Anyone who wants to be prime minister has to convince the public and Likud members that this is his place, and I believe that I will be able to convince them,” Katz said.
Describing his achievements as Transport Minister this year, Katz said: “Good security also enables good transportation, and security is the foundation of this country. We have a good country, compared to many other places in the world.”
Regarding the controversy of many outsiders registering as Likud members, which party insiders view as a threat, Katz said: “Every registration [for membership in more than one party] must immediately be deleted from all the parties, it is a violation of the law.”
“I have persisted as part of the party’s public state line, that’s how I grew up and I was born: I heard Begin when I was young and immediately joined the Likud and my considerations are state,” Katz said.
Katz is a hardliner on peace and security: he supports continued settlement construction, extending full Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, and severing all relations with the Palestinian Authority. He opposes the two-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian state in any form, which he regards as unacceptable. Instead, Katz favors the creation of an autonomous Palestinian entity “with Jordanian civil and political affiliation,” and connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt. He a retreat from the Golan Heights, deeming it “an integral part of Israel and vital for its security and protection.”