Netanyahu pushes Israeli unity government; Eisenkot dismisses offer as a trick

Netanyahu renews call for unity government

Acting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his call on Saturday, 14 November, for a national unity government, saying in a statement issued after the Jewish Sabbath that only a coalition with him could guarantee Israel's security. The message was aimed at the nation but also, indirectly, at Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition leader tasked after the recent elections with forming a new government that Netanyahu wants to keep him out of. He asked Eisenkot to enter talks "without preconditions" and set aside all vetoes, in a deal that would exclude the Arab parties, which he again accused of supporting terrorism.

Netanyahu tied the offer to Iran. He said Tehran, which he described as seeking Israel's destruction, was working again to revive its nuclear programme and would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Israel once it could enrich uranium again. He pledged to resume the war to eliminate the Iranian threat "once and for all", and said Israel must keep doing everything to stop Iran, as it had done in earlier operations against the country. He also said the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, one of the main obstacles between the two blocs, could be resolved together with ultra-Orthodox representatives.

Eisenkot dismisses the offer as a trick

Eisenkot rejected the proposal as the umpteenth propaganda manoeuvre, arguing that the negotiating teams of Likud and Yashar had already fixed a meeting for Sunday, 15 November. Le Soir reported that he accused Netanyahu of knowing he had lost the election, and that he described the offer as a bluff. Eisenkot said Netanyahu claimed to want unity while belittling an institutional ceremony at the Knesset, sowing divisions and inciting hatred. He also challenged Netanyahu to back his replacement in the Knesset.

Eisenkot's most direct reply was a single line:

“Good try, but these tricks don't work with me.”

Seats at stake and the election arithmetic

Eisenkot has the backing of 67 deputies after the 27 October legislative elections, which produced no clear majority, and has 28 days to form a government, extendable by a further 14. The 19 seats held by Arab parties could play a decisive role, and talks are expected to be hard over their participation. A rotating premiership, with each leader heading the government in turn, could be one option, a model already used in Israeli politics. Eisenkot said he would welcome members of Likud and of the far-right Religious Zionist Party of outgoing finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, provided the wish for unity is sincere and he leads the government. He has repeated that he would not govern under Netanyahu.

Deputies backing Eisenkot67

Arab parties19

Deputies backing Eisenkot

67 seats

Arab parties

19 seats

Data from the article text

Talks and the timeline

Netanyahu and Eisenkot met on Thursday, 12 November, and Netanyahu said afterwards that the meeting only reinforced his conviction that a unity government is essential. The Knesset's inaugural session on Tuesday, 10 November, was marked by Joint List lawmakers walking out during the singing of HaTikvah, a move Netanyahu referred to in his statement. The sequence of events from the October elections to the planned talks is shown below. The negotiating teams of Likud and Yashar are scheduled to meet on Sunday, 15 November.