Netanyahu Urges Eisenkot On A National Unity Government
Israel’s prime minister says his meeting with the opposition leader confirmed how essential a unity government is, as Eisenkot works to form a government under a presidential mandate
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that his meeting with Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot confirmed his understanding of how essential it is to form a national unity government at this time.
He called on Eisenkot to enter a room without preconditions, set aside all disagreements and reach agreements on Israel’s security and future, including military conscription.
Netanyahu said the government should include all parties that support the existence of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and be able to meet the “enormous and complex security challenges” ahead.
A narrow government, or one that relies on supporters of terrorism, he said, would not be able to meet them, while a unity government would.
He told Eisenkot that, instead of trying to form a “shaky and dangerous” government, they should agree on security and the future, and said the conscription issue can be resolved together with representatives of the ultra-Orthodox public.
Israel’s president tasked Eisenkot with forming the government on November 7, after the election left no party or bloc with a majority.
Eisenkot has 28 days to form it, with a possible extension of 14 days, and if he fails the president can give the mandate to the leader of the largest party, Netanyahu’s Likud. Eisenkot’s party set conditions for Likud to join, including ending its alliance with parties it called extremist and joining a government headed by Eisenkot, and it cancelled a negotiating meeting with Likud scheduled for Wednesday after Netanyahu’s speech at the swearing-in of the new Knesset on Tuesday, which it called divisive.
Netanyahu has also told the ultra-Orthodox parties not to join a narrow government led by Eisenkot, and has said no government should depend on the Arab parties.
Eisenkot has not publicly responded to the Saturday statement.