Minister Hotovely Confirms She Will Be Israel’s Ambassador to the U.K.

Settlements Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) said on Thursday that she had accepted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s offer to be Israel’s next ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“It is undoubtedly one of the most senior positions in the foreign service. Within Europe, Britain is very important and is very friendly to Israel, certainly under [Prime Minister Boris] Johnson, that is something we have to leverage and do important diplomatic work on,” Hotovely said in an interview on Army Radio on Thursday.

With this, Hotovely confirms the reports that she was offered to serve as ambassador to the U.K. After the formation of the government, Hotovely said that she had not yet agreed to the offer and would have to think about it.

But for now, she said, all her efforts are focused on her current job as settlements minister, acknowledging that she has not started preparing herself for the ambassadorship in London.

If confirmed by the Israeli and the British governments, Hotovely will replace Mark Regev, who is finishing his five-year term in London in July.

In his speech announcing the new unity government last month, Netanyahu said Hotovely would serve as minister for three months and then become ambassador to the U.K.

According to the coalition agreement between Likud and the Blue and White party, Hotovely, who speaks fluent English, will remain ambassador in the U.K. for the entire term of the unity government’s and cannot be replaced after the rotation agreement will be implemented.

Hotovely’s appointment needs to be approved by the Civil Service Commission’s committee for senior appointments and then voted on by the Cabinet.