The Man Who Pulled the Plug 

“We will use every tool at our disposal to return all the hostages,” Cohen told me this week. “Cutting off electricity is another step that ups the pressure on Hamas, along with the cessation of humanitarian aid and other steps we’re taking. We’re committed to returning all the hostages to their families, and to ensuring that Hamas won’t be in Gaza the day after.”

Welcome the man of the hour, energy minister and cabinet member Eli Cohen, who started the term as foreign minister before trading positions with Yisrael Katz. After Katz himself later replaced Yoav Gallant as defense minister, the foreign ministry went to Gideon Saar, who reentered the right-wing fold.

Eli Cohen is seen as one of the more entrenched Likud figures. Born in Holon in 1972, he worked his way up in the business world before joining the Likud. He regularly appears on lists of Israel’s who’s who. His relatively moderate positions align with the Likud base and to a large extent reflect the views of authentic Likud voters. On Erev Purim, I sat down with him to discuss some timely issues.

Let’s start with the Gaza electricity cutoff. How significant is it? It hasn’t exactly plunged Gaza into biblical darkness.

First, it absolutely is significant. Second, it’s true that while cutting off their electricity makes problems for them, it won’t necessarily plunge Gaza into darkness. They can generate electricity with fuel, solar power, and other energy sources. But we cut off the supply from Israel, and that’s a significant step, and we’ll do whatever else it takes to bring all the hostages back.