Netanyahu names Yisrael Katz acting foreign minister February 17, 2019 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz during a test drive of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv express train, Sept. 20, 2018. (Flash90/Noam Revkin Fenton)(Flash90/Noam Revkin Fenton)Netanyahu names Yisrael Katz acting foreign minister Tweet WhatsApp Email https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-names-yisrael-katz-acting-foreign-minister/ Email Print Netanyahu named Yisrael Katz as acting foreign minister on Sunday.By World Israel News StaffPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz as Acting Foreign Minister. He made the announcement at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, on Sunday.Netanyahu, who holds numerous portfolios, including defense minister, foreign minister, health minister and minister of immigration and absorption, said last week that that he would appoint a new foreign minister in his stead.Netanyahu made the decision after a petition submitted by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel argued that he held too many crucial ministerial portfolios than an individual could handle. “We regret that the prime minister dragged his feet for such a long period, and acted only after pressure from a legal process,” the group said in response to Katz’s appointment.“We congratulate Minister Katz and wish him success in his important position, and hope that the next government will not demand the practice of concentrating such great powers in the hands of one person once more,” it said.The petition came two months after Netanyahu himself promised to appoint a foreign minister in his place, a decision that he didn’t act on until the petition to Israel’s High Court of Justice was submitted, Mako news reports.Read Kamala Harris refuses to call Netanyahu an 'ally' of America Benjamin NetanyahuForeign MinistryYisrael Katz