Eisenkot, Backed by 67 MPs, Rejects Netanyahu’s Unity Plea
(MENAFN) Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s prime minister-designate, on Saturday brushed aside an appeal from caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for unity government talks, branding it a “media stunt.”
Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party and has been charged with assembling the next government, said negotiating teams from Yashar and Netanyahu’s Likud are set to meet Sunday.
In a post on the US social media platform X, Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of preaching national unity while continuing to stoke division and incite against his political rivals. He cited Netanyahu’s speech at the opening of the new Knesset as evidence.
Likud could join a national emergency government under his leadership, Eisenkot said, but only if it accepts his stated principles and cuts ties with extremist political forces.
He also charged that Netanyahu is trying to block the formation of a new government and to unseat Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a Likud member.
A vote Tuesday on Eisenkot’s pick for speaker, Matan Kahana, will show whether Likud and the Religious Zionism party are serious about a political partnership, he said, urging both to back Kahana’s candidacy.
Netanyahu calls for talks with no strings
In a video statement Saturday, Netanyahu urged Eisenkot to open coalition negotiations “without preconditions,” citing what he called an important conversation between the two on Thursday.
He pressed for a government that includes every party that backs Israel’s existence as a state for the Jewish people. Only a broad coalition, he argued, could confront Iran, which he claimed is working to revive its nuclear program. He also called on political leaders to set aside their differences and strike agreements on security and military conscription.
The appeal came four days after Netanyahu attacked Eisenkot’s bloc in the Knesset, accusing it of pursuing a fragile and dangerous government reliant on Arab parties. He labeled those parties “supporters of terrorism” and “haters of Israel.” Eisenkot condemned the speech as hateful.
Race to form a government
President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Nov. 8, after he secured recommendations from 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members. Netanyahu received recommendations from 46 lawmakers.
Eisenkot has an initial 28 days to build a coalition, with the option of a 14-day extension.
Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party and has been charged with assembling the next government, said negotiating teams from Yashar and Netanyahu’s Likud are set to meet Sunday.
In a post on the US social media platform X, Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of preaching national unity while continuing to stoke division and incite against his political rivals. He cited Netanyahu’s speech at the opening of the new Knesset as evidence.
Likud could join a national emergency government under his leadership, Eisenkot said, but only if it accepts his stated principles and cuts ties with extremist political forces.
He also charged that Netanyahu is trying to block the formation of a new government and to unseat Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a Likud member.
A vote Tuesday on Eisenkot’s pick for speaker, Matan Kahana, will show whether Likud and the Religious Zionism party are serious about a political partnership, he said, urging both to back Kahana’s candidacy.
Netanyahu calls for talks with no strings
In a video statement Saturday, Netanyahu urged Eisenkot to open coalition negotiations “without preconditions,” citing what he called an important conversation between the two on Thursday.
He pressed for a government that includes every party that backs Israel’s existence as a state for the Jewish people. Only a broad coalition, he argued, could confront Iran, which he claimed is working to revive its nuclear program. He also called on political leaders to set aside their differences and strike agreements on security and military conscription.
The appeal came four days after Netanyahu attacked Eisenkot’s bloc in the Knesset, accusing it of pursuing a fragile and dangerous government reliant on Arab parties. He labeled those parties “supporters of terrorism” and “haters of Israel.” Eisenkot condemned the speech as hateful.
Race to form a government
President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Nov. 8, after he secured recommendations from 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members. Netanyahu received recommendations from 46 lawmakers.
Eisenkot has an initial 28 days to build a coalition, with the option of a 14-day extension.
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