The UN General Assembly meeting hall in New York. Photo: Reuters / Brendan McDermid.

The question of who will be Israel’s next ambassador to the UN remained open on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top pick officially turned down the position.

Israel’s Interior Security Minister Gilad Erdan was offered the post last June, Israeli news site Mako reports, but refused to give an answer.

Last month, it was reported that Netanyahu had lost patience with Erdan and was considering other candidates, among them his former education minister Naftali Bennett.

On Wednesday, Erdan officially turned down the offer in a Twitter post, saying, “After I considered the offer to serve as Israel’s UN ambassador, I decided that I must continue in my post.”

Erdan added that he felt he had to “stay in Israel during this crucial time in order to do everything in my power for the victory of the Likud headed by Netanyahu.”