Israel Katz | |
|---|---|
יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּ״ץ | |
.jpg) Katz in 2024 | |
| Ministerial portfolios | |
| 2003–2006 | Agriculture |
| 2009–2019 | Transport |
| 2015–2020 | Intelligence |
| 2019–2020 | Foreign Affairs |
| 2020–2021 | Finance |
| 2022–2024 | Energy |
| 2024 | Foreign Affairs |
| 2024– | Defense |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1998– | Likud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-09-21)21 September 1955 (age 70) Ashkelon, Israel |
| Education | Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA,MA) |
Israel Katz (Hebrew:יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּ״ץ; born 21 September 1955) is an Israeli politician and member of theKnesset forLikud currently serving asMinister of Defense and a member of theSecurity Cabinet of Israel. Katz has been recognized for his role in modernizing Israel's transportation infrastructure, including the expansion of highways, the development of high-speed rail, and reforms to Israel's ports that increased competition and reduced shipping costs.[1][2][3] Katz has previously served asMinister of Agriculture,Minister of Transport,Minister of Intelligence,Minister of Energy,Minister of Finance, and twice asMinister of Foreign Affairs. On 5 November 2024, it was announced that he would be nominated by Prime MinisterNetanyahu asDefense Minister afterYoav Gallant was dismissed.[4]
Israel Katz was born inAshkelon.[5] His parents, Meir Katz and Malka ((Nira) née Deutsch), wereHolocaust survivors from the region ofMaramureș,Romania.[6] He was raised onMoshavKfar Ahim. He was drafted into theIsrael Defense Force in 1973 and served in theParatroopers Brigade as a soldier andsquad leader. In 1976, he completedOfficer Candidate School and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as aplatoon leader. After his discharge in 1977, he studied at theHebrew University of Jerusalem and graduated with aBachelor of Arts andMaster of Arts.[5] In the early 1980s, he was the chairman of the students' union. In March 1981, he was suspended for a year for his participation in a protest againstArab violence on campus that included locking the rector,Raphael Mechoulam, in his room.[7]
Katz is married and has two children.[8]
Katz was first listed on 45th onLikud list on1992 Israeli legislative election, but missed out whenLikud only won 32 seats. Katz won 34th place on theLikud-Gesher-Tzomet list for the1996 elections, but missed out on a place in the Knesset when the alliance won only 32 seats. However, he entered the Knesset in November 1998 as a replacement forEhud Olmert. He was re-elected in 1999 and 2003, and was appointedMinister of Agriculture inAriel Sharon'sgovernment in 2003. Katz left thecabinet in January 2006 after the Likud–Kadima split, and was re-elected in the2006 elections.[5]
In January 2004, Katz announced a plan to substantially increase the number of settlers in theGolan Heights.[9] In March 2004, he suggested making a referendum among all registered members of Likud, which allowed Ariel Sharon, intent on mobilising public opinion to back hisGaza disengagement plan, to get round opposition within the Likud convention, dominated byIsraeli settler pressure groups.[10] Katz along withBenjamin Netanyahu,Silvan Shalom andLimor Livnat announced that they would resign from the government within two weeks if Sharon did not agree to hold a national referendum on the pull out plan.[11] In the same period, he lobbied, together with theWorld Zionist Organization, to have $32 million set aside to provide incentives and subsidies forsettlements in theWest Bank.[12]
In March 2007, theIsrael Police recommended indicting Katz on charges of fraud and breach of trust linked to political appointments at the Ministry of Agriculture during his tenure as minister. The report found 24 seasonal ministry employees were members of the Likud Central Committee or were children of committee members. The police transferred their investigative material to the central district prosecution.[13] Later attorney general declined to prosecute.[14]
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Katz ran for Leader of the Likud inDecember 2005, winning 8.7% of the vote.[15][16]
In the2009 elections and after winning 11th place on the Likud list, Katz retained his seat and was appointed Minister of Transportation in theNetanyahu government.[17] In July 2009, he decided to replace existing road signs in Israel with new ones so that all the names appearing on them in English and Arabic would be a direct transliteration of their Hebrew names, instead of being directly in English and Arabic.[18][19]
In February 2010, Katz was ordered by theHigh Court of Justice to issue instructions based on a committee's findings thatgender segregation in public buses was illegal and that separate seating could not be coerced, asHaredis were doing. Katz, undertaking to implement the recommendations, responded that the buses could carry signs suggesting that gender segregation was voluntary. The Haredi community considered this failure of enforcement a victory.[20][21] Judges from the High Court of Justice criticized Katz's decision to allow continued operation of sex-segregated buses.[22]
In July 2011, Katz confirmed that the state subsidizes bus tickets within West Bank settlements, causing them to be cheaper than tickets for rides within theGreen Line. According to Katz, the move was intended to incentivize settlers to use armor-protected public transportation within the West Bank, which would ostensibly reduce state spending on stationing military and security escorts for non-armored, private vehicles.[23]
Katz was re-elected in2013 and remained Minister of Transportation in thenew government.[24] After being placed fourth on the Likud list,[25] he was re-elected in2015, after which he was appointed Minister of Intelligence in thenew government, as well as remaining Minister of Transportation.[26]
In February 2019, Katz assumed the position ofMinister of Foreign Affairs.[27]
On 17 May 2020, Katz becameMinister of Finance when theThirty-fifth government of Israel was sworn in.[28][29]
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He supported theIsraeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. On 13 October 2023, Katz, then Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, stated on X: "We will fight the terrorist organization Hamas and destroy it. All the civilian population in [G]aza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win. They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world."[30][31]
On 1 January 2024, Katz assumed the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the second time, following the Knesset's approval of a power-sharing agreement that led to the replacement ofEli Cohen.[32]
In July 2024, he attended the2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C.[33] Katz warned of the Iran-Russia alliance and the dangers posed by Iran and China, and also met with the foreign ministers of Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the United States, Germany, South Korea and Canada.[34]
In February 2025, Katz instructed theIDF to prepare a plan to "allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so",[35] saying, "Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory. Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse."[36]Spain andIreland rejected Katz's proposal.[37][38] Katz also suggested that Palestinians from Gaza shouldimmigrate to Canada becauseCanada has a "structured immigration program."[38]
During theIsraeli invasion of Syria following thefall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel took control of the U.N.-patrolledUNDOF buffer zone on Syrian territory, a move that violated the1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.[39] In February 2025, Israel Katz said that Israeli forces would remain in southern Syria "for an indefinite period of time to protect our communities and thwart any threat."[40]
In March 2025, Katz condemned themassacres of Syrian Alawites committed by pro-government fighters duringclashes in western Syria and characterized Syrian PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa (referred to by Katz under hisnom de guerre "Al-Julani") as "ajihadist terrorist from theAl-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population." Katz affirmed Israel's intention to maintain control ofMount Hermon and other security areas, defend communities in theGolan andGalilee regions, ensuresouthern Syria's demilitarization, and defend the localDruze population.[41]
On 19 March 2025, Katz warned Gaza residents in a video broadcast: "Return the hostages and eliminate Hamas, and other options will open up for you — including going to other places in the world for those who wish. The alternative is complete destruction and devastation."[42] In April 2025, Katz said that Israeli troops would remain in Gaza,Lebanon, andSyria indefinitely.[43] He announced that large areas of Gaza would be "incorporated into Israel's security zones" and thatIsraeli military operations in Gaza would include a "large-scaleevacuation of Gaza's population from combat zones."[44][45]
Katz supported the blockade ofhumanitarian aid to Gaza, saying on 16 April 2025: "No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."[46] After theIsraeli attack on theGaza European Hospital in May 2025, Katz declared: "We will not allow the Hamas terrorist organization to use hospitals and humanitarian facilities in Gaza as shelters and terrorist headquarters."[47]
On 8 June 2025, Katz ordered the Israeli military to prevent the JuneGaza Freedom Flotilla's vessel Madleen from coming ashore on Gaza.[48] He calledGreta Thunberg, one of the passengers on board, antisemitic.[48] He ordered that members of the flotilla be shown footage of theOctober 7 attacks.[49]
FollowingIranian retaliatory strikes on Israel in response toIsraeli strikes on Iran in June 2025, Katz said that Iran had crossed red lines by targeting civilians, adding that it would pay a very high price for that.[50] Katz warned that "Tehran will burn" if Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.[51] He also said that Iran's supreme leader,Ali Khamenei, "cannot continue to exist".[52]
In September 2025, Katz threatened to unleash "ten biblical plagues on Egypt" on theHouthis after the Houthis increased their missile attacks against Israel in response of aprevious airstrike launched by Israel.[53]
On 11 September 2025, an unnamed Turkish hacking group was able to obtain his phone number and managed to have a brief video call with him. During the call, one of the hackers hurled insults at Katz and took a screenshot before Katz ended the interaction.[54] The Turkish group also published an image showing several messages that were sent to Katz onWhatsApp, with the first message stated inHebrew: "Hey Katz, never forget this, your death is near, we are the defenders of Qassam, we will bury you and your country in history," referring to theAl-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Two other messages inTurkish were sent to Katz before being blocked read: "What the hell happened?" and "Did you block me, dog?"[55]
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On peace and security matters, Katz is considered to be ahardliner in the Israeli government.[56][57] He takes an annexationist view of theWest Bank: he supports continuedsettlement construction,[58] extending full Israeli sovereignty to theWest Bank, and severing all relations with thePalestinian Authority.[59][60] He opposes thetwo-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian state in any form, which he regards as unacceptable considering "our rights to this land". Instead, Katz favors the creation of an autonomous Palestinian entity "withJordanian civil and political affiliation", and connecting theGaza Strip toEgypt.[61] He opposes any territorial retreat from theGolan Heights, captured fromSyria during theSix-Day War, deeming it "an integral part of Israel and vital for its security and protection."[62]
In 2024, Katz declared United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterrespersona non grata in Israel for not condemning theOctober 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel in a statement on the Middle East conflict.[63]
On 5 November 2024, it was announced he would be nominated to the role ofDefense Minister by Netanyahu, replacingYoav Gallant, who was fired.[4]
In the aftermath of the2016 Brussels bombings, Katz caused some controversy when he made "harsh"[64] comments onIsrael Radio about the inability ofBelgium and theWestern world to fightIslamic terrorism effectively.The Jerusalem Post quoted Katz as saying that, "The first rule of war isknow your enemy, and Europe and the currentAmerican government are unwilling to define this war as against Islamist terrorism. If inBelgium they continue eating chocolate and enjoying life, and continue to appear as great democrats and liberals, they won't be aware that some Muslims in their country are organising terror, they won't be able to fight them."[64][65] The "chocolate-eating Belgians" remark was widely quoted in theWestern media and ridiculed onTwitter,[66] and Katz was accused by Israeli pundits of giving Israel a bad image abroad as a result.[67]
In March 2016, Katz introduced a bill to the Knesset to enable the Israeli government to deport the families of terrorists, if they are found to have been aware of, to have encouraged, or to have aided the act. The measure received broad support from the ruling coalition and key opposition MKs.[68] The same month, Katz argued that Israel should employ "targeted civil eliminations" against leaders ofBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The expression puns on the Hebrew word fortargeted assassinations.[69]
During an interview on Israeli TV, Katz quotedYitzhak Shamir by saying that Poles "suckled anti-Semitism from their mothers' breasts," allegedly causing Polish Prime MinisterMateusz Morawiecki to cancel his visit to Israel in February 2019.[70] Morawiecki said the remarks were unacceptable and racist.[71]
In August 2014, afterTurkey'sPrime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Israel of attempting a "systematicgenocide" of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, on account of Israel'sOperation Protective Edge military campaign, Katz publicly reminded Erdoğan of the 1915Armenian genocide, rejecting any accusations for defending Israel against those he termed Erdoğan's "friends in the Islamic movement".[72]
In 2024,Ömer Çelik, the former TurkishMinister of European Union Affairs and spokesperson of theJustice and Development Party, likened Katz to Nazi leaderAdolf Hitler's top diplomatJoachim von Ribbentrop due to his provocative remarks during theInvasion of the Gaza Strip.[73][74][75]
In May 2025, Katz rebuked French presidentEmmanuel Macron's call to recognize aPalestinian state with certain conditions, saying, "They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper — and we will build the Jewish-Israeli state on the ground. The paper will be thrown in the trash can of history and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper."[76]
Media related toIsrael Katz at Wikimedia Commons
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