Netanyahu urges national unity government and warns Arab-party coalition would destroy Israel

Netanyahu's call for a unity government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the parties of the so-called change bloc to form a government of national unity with the parties of his outgoing governing coalition. In a video message, he said such a government should include all allies of his previous coalition, namely the nationalist Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties, the ultra-Orthodox parties and Likud. He did not say who should lead such a government.

Warning over Arab parties

Netanyahu also warned against a government that would depend on the support of the Arab parties, which he described as supporters of terrorism. In his account, such a government would destroy Israel from within. Reports of the same video message in Greek and French rendered his words as a government dependent on Islamists that would dismantle the Israeli state from within, comparable to what is happening in European countries.

Herzog's mandate

Netanyahu's appeal came one day before President Isaac Herzog is due to give the mandate to form a government. According to the news portal N12, Herzog will task opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot. During consultations with the president, parties holding 67 of the 120 parliamentary seats recommended Eisenkot, while Netanyahu received the backing of 46 lawmakers.

Gadi Eisenkot (parties recommending him)67

Benjamin Netanyahu (lawmakers backing him)46

Gadi Eisenkot (parties recommending him)

67 seats

Benjamin Netanyahu (lawmakers backing him)

46 seats

Data from the article text

Eisenkot's response

Eisenkot, who chairs the newly founded centre party Yashar, called Netanyahu's speech on X a cheap PR stunt. He accused Netanyahu of dividing Israeli society and sowing discord, and said the prime minister would only speak of unity once he realised his days in office were numbered. Eisenkot also said Netanyahu had never kept an agreement signed with political partners. He added that if Likud and its allies were truly interested in unity, they could publicly end their alliance with the extremists and declare their readiness to join a government under Prime Minister Eisenkot.