PROFILE - Israel Katz: Who is Tel Aviv's foreign minister-turned defense chief

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) — In a surprise move on Tuesday evening, Israel's Premier Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, appointing in his place Israel Katz whose foreign affairs portfolio he gave to National Right party chief Gideon Sa'ar.

Katz, who had been serving as foreign minister since the beginning of this year, became known for his outspoken and often hostile comments toward Palestinians and the UN.

Born in the coastal city of Ashkelon in 1955 to parents who had emigrated from Romania, he studied at the Or Etzion religious school under Rabbi Haim Drukman, a prominent leader in the global religious Zionist movement.

In 1973, Katz joined the Israeli army, serving as an officer in the 890th Paratrooper Brigade. He also served as a reservist during the 1982 Lebanon War.

In 1984, he became a deputy director under then-Minister of Industry and Trade Ariel Sharon, a position in which Katz reportedly became a protege of the former Israeli leader. Since 1998, he has served in the Knesset, the country's parliament, representing Netanyahu's Likud party.

Throughout his political career, Katz has maintained an extremist policy against the Palestinian presence in the occupied territories, openly supporting settlement expansion in the West Bank and opposing a two-state solution.

- Criminal record

In the late 1980s, while serving as deputy director at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Katz faced charges of fraud and breach of trust. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Katz, whose driver's license was suspended, persuaded an office driver to falsely testify that he had been the one driving. Although Katz pleaded guilty, the charges of fraud and breach of trust were ultimately dismissed.

In 2009, then-Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to close an investigation into political appointments Katz made while heading the Agriculture Ministry (2003–2006), despite police recommendations to indict him for fraud and breach of trust.

Since then, Katz has held multiple ministerial roles under Netanyahu, including a previous posting as foreign minister in 2019-2020. He also served as minister of finance in 2020-2022 and transportation in 2009–2019. In January 2023, he was appointed minister of energy and infrastructure before moving to the Foreign Ministry on Jan. 1 this year.

- Pushing for Palestinians' 'eviction' from occupied West Bank

During his tenure as foreign minister, Katz was known for his aggressive approach, avoiding diplomatic language in favor of provocative remarks about international figures.

In August, he called for the “eviction” of Palestinians from cities and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, similar to recent actions in Gaza. Katz argued, “This is a war on all fronts, and we must win it.”

He proposed temporarily evacuating residents of camps like Jenin to focus on dismantling what he called the “terror infrastructure” there, echoing measures taken in Gaza.

- Displacing people in Gaza

In February 2024, Katz suggested building an artificial island off Gaza’s coast to relocate Palestinian residents, replacing them with Jewish settlers.

Israel's Foreign Ministry later denied that this was the intention of the proposal, which Katz reportedly pitched to European counterparts. It stated that the idea was for a port to be set up on the proposed artificial island off Gaza.

- Targeting UN refugee agency

Katz also led efforts to criminalize the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

He pushed in favor of a campaign that culminated in a recent Knesset vote to ban the agency in the Palestinian territories.

- Tensions with UN chief

Last month, Katz declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” in Israel, accusing him of antisemitism after Guterres allegedly failed to “unequivocally condemn” an Iranian missile strike on Israel.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, killing nearly 43,400 people and rendering the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio