Netanyahu renews call for unity government with Eisenkot
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Al Jazeera and BFMTV
Israel’s interim Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has again called for a national unity government with Gadi Eisenkot, which he says is the only way to guarantee Israel’s security. Eisenkot, tasked with forming the government, dismisses the appeal as 'tricks', and no bloc has a majority of the 120 seats, according to Al Jazeera.
Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that his meeting with Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday had strengthened his conviction that a national unity government was necessary to ensure Israel’s security. The outgoing Israeli prime minister also cited the desire to neutralise the Iranian threat on a lasting basis, according to Al Jazeera.
Eisenkot, a former Israeli army chief tasked with forming the government, rejected the proposal, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to buy time while negotiations are already under way. He noted that Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats against 48 for his own coalition in the Knesset, which has 120 members, while the Arab parties have won a record 19 seats, according to Al Jazeera.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog entrusted Eisenkot with forming the government after 67 MPs backed him, against 46 for Netanyahu. Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible extension of 14 days, to form a majority or secure the abstention of certain MPs. His proposed minority emergency government envisages that the 26 Arab and ultra-Orthodox MPs could abstain, allowing his bloc of 48 MPs to prevail over Netanyahu’s 46 supporters.
Netanyahu’s proposal excludes the Arab parties and aims to bring in centrist and right-wing Jewish parties. On Friday, Eisenkot described the campaign against the Arab parties as racist, while Netanyahu argues that a government without an absolute majority would lead Israel to 'collapse', according to Al Jazeera. This renewed call follows the call for a national union around Eisenkot, published on 8 November, and the agreement on security exchanges between Netanyahu and Eisenkot, announced on 13 November.
