Despite initially citing ‘principles’ as his reason for not joining Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government, MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) announced Monday that he had indeed agreed to join at Netanyahu’s request.

Pending Knesset approval Monday night, Erdan will serve as both Minister of Internal Security and Minister of Strategic Affairs and Hasbarah and will be granted an increased budget in the former. 

“In every government ministry, you can do a lot for the public, if you are give the ability to act and the necessary backing to carry out significant steps,” Erdan wrote to constituents on Facebook. 

“In the past, I gave up the Home Front Command Ministry (which was very important to me) because I was not given the authority and budget to strengthen it, and also in this case, when I thought I wasn’t being given the conditions necessary to bring about real change in the police and to the personal security of all of us, I preferred to give up the job.” 

“As a member of the national camp who had invested so much to ensure we won the election, this was not an easy decision for me,” Erdan added, “but I didn’t think I was the problem and I still don’t.”

“I think now, with the right tools, I have the ability to act and make a difference,” Erdan continued. “I didn’t come here to make declarations but I will say this: I’m going to work very, very hard, and am committed to creating achievements.”

“We all deserve personal security and an excellent police force. And Israel deserves to be protected and not slandered in the world.”

In something of a more detailed explanation of how his entry into the government came to be, Erdan recounted “in-depth discussions after which the Prime Minister and I agreed on a significant budget increase to the Internal Security Ministry” for police problems. 

“The current situation is not simple, but these type of challenges have never deterred me.”