Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan met with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit secretly on Sunday to discuss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer to appoint Erdan to be Israel’s next Ambassador to the United Nations.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 13 TV News, Erdan asked Mandelblit whether the government was allowed to approve the appointment due to its interim nature.
Since the term of Israel’s current UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, is about to end, Mandelblit said the interim government is indeed permitted to approve the appointment, although other appointments may be postponed.
Opposition Blue and White party has asked Mandelblit to block Netanyahu from appointing new ambassadors to the United Nations or to Egypt – another appointment also being considered – while the government is in transition.