Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has enjoyed significant support amongst the public despite certain legal challenges. Having narrowly won but failed to secure a majority in the last election, the prime minister has been reviewing candidates to take his place, Trend reports citing Sputnik.
Netanyahu has said that he has highlighted both Yossi Cohen, the head of the Mossad intelligence agency, and Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the US, as his potential successors once his political career ends, according to The Times of Israel, citing the media outlet Walla.
“There are two people I consider fit to lead the State of Israel - Yossi Cohen and Ron Dermer,” he said, as cited by Walla.
Netanyahu retains the legacy of being Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.
The PM said that he does not intend to step down from the position, even as criminal indictments begin to encroach on him.
According to Walla, a discrepancy has emerged between the two stated successors.
The 46-year old Dermer has declared that he has no interest in pursuing a political career following the end of his tenure as a diplomat.
Although he denies any political prospects, the alternative pick, 57-year-old spy chief Cohen, may have his eye on the top job after his tenure as head of Mossad concludes.
Cohen, a former national security adviser for Netanyahu, became chief of Mossad in 2016, succeeding Tamir Pardo.
He has defined his term through significant opposition to the Iranian nuclear program, opposing the potential development of nuclear weapons by Iran and advocating a peace agreement with the Palestinians.