Netanyahu Defies Mandate: “Unity Govt” Push After Likud Win
(MENAFN) Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday pressed his claim to head a unity government, arguing that his Likud party’s first-place finish in last month’s election entitles him to the job. The demand came a day after President Isaac Herzog formally gave opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to build the next government.
“A unity government is an essential need, it is the need of the hour,” Netanyahu said in a video broadcast by Israeli media, including a local television channel. He urged a coalition of all Zionist and ultra-Orthodox parties, led by the largest faction.
“Likud, under my leadership, won the most votes, a quarter of a million more than the next party,” he said.
By the numbers: In the Oct. 27 vote, Likud took 27 of the 120 Knesset seats, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar party with 21. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Opposition parties secured 48, and Arab parties won 19.
During Herzog’s consultations, 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, 46 backed Netanyahu, and seven named neither. Herzog conceded that Likud is the largest party but noted that earlier presidents had handed the task to other parties’ leaders, pointing to the majority of lawmakers who endorsed Eisenkot.
Netanyahu said he was prepared to open talks with any party willing to discuss a unity government. “I’m not ruling anyone out, and no one should rule anyone out. Enough boycotts,” he said, urging Zionist and ultra-Orthodox parties to unite.
Clock starts for Eisenkot
Eisenkot has 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension. After receiving the mandate Sunday, he called for a national emergency government, saying the challenges confronting Israel demand that parties set aside their political divisions.
His bid faces resistance from prospective partners, who are split over reliance on Arab parties and over the military draft exemptions that ultra-Orthodox factions are seeking.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who met with Eisenkot separately, has ruled out supporting a minority government or one dependent on Arab-led parties, while signaling he is open to talks with ultra-Orthodox factions.
If Eisenkot cannot form a coalition capable of winning the Knesset’s confidence, Herzog could hand the task to another candidate.
“A unity government is an essential need, it is the need of the hour,” Netanyahu said in a video broadcast by Israeli media, including a local television channel. He urged a coalition of all Zionist and ultra-Orthodox parties, led by the largest faction.
“Likud, under my leadership, won the most votes, a quarter of a million more than the next party,” he said.
By the numbers: In the Oct. 27 vote, Likud took 27 of the 120 Knesset seats, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar party with 21. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Opposition parties secured 48, and Arab parties won 19.
During Herzog’s consultations, 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, 46 backed Netanyahu, and seven named neither. Herzog conceded that Likud is the largest party but noted that earlier presidents had handed the task to other parties’ leaders, pointing to the majority of lawmakers who endorsed Eisenkot.
Netanyahu said he was prepared to open talks with any party willing to discuss a unity government. “I’m not ruling anyone out, and no one should rule anyone out. Enough boycotts,” he said, urging Zionist and ultra-Orthodox parties to unite.
Clock starts for Eisenkot
Eisenkot has 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension. After receiving the mandate Sunday, he called for a national emergency government, saying the challenges confronting Israel demand that parties set aside their political divisions.
His bid faces resistance from prospective partners, who are split over reliance on Arab parties and over the military draft exemptions that ultra-Orthodox factions are seeking.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who met with Eisenkot separately, has ruled out supporting a minority government or one dependent on Arab-led parties, while signaling he is open to talks with ultra-Orthodox factions.
If Eisenkot cannot form a coalition capable of winning the Knesset’s confidence, Herzog could hand the task to another candidate.
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