Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his appeal for a unity government with opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, casting a coalition that keeps him in power as vital to national security. In a Saturday video statement, Netanyahu said his Thursday meeting with Eisenkot 'only strengthened the conviction that it is essential to form a national unity government', which he claimed could 'eliminate the Iranian threat once and for all'. He alleged Tehran would 'not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against us'.
Eisenkot, the Yashar party leader given the first mandate to form a government by President Isaac Herzog, called the appeal a 'bluff'. 'Nice try, but these tricks don't work on me. Nor on Israel's citizens,' he said, though he confirmed that Yashar and Likud are discussing a shared government.
In the October 27 election, Eisenkot's four-party bloc won 48 of the Knesset's 120 seats, Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc won 53, and two Palestinian-led factions, the Joint List and Ra'am, took a record 19 between them. Last week, Eisenkot's bloc, backed by both Arab-led factions, won a 63-to-50 vote approving the makeup of the Arrangements Committee, which helps set the Knesset agenda, then set up temporary committees for finance, foreign affairs and defence.
Eisenkot's bloc and the two Arab-led factions hold 67 seats combined, six more than a majority requires. Another path is a minority government backed by Ra'am's eight lawmakers, which would give Eisenkot 56 votes to Netanyahu's 53 if the Joint List's 11 abstained.
His allies are divided. Democrats leader Yair Golan is open to relying on the Palestinian-led factions, but Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman and Together's Naftali Bennett reject that, although both served in the 2021 government Ra'am formally joined. Yasser Manna of the Jerusalem Center for Studies on Israeli Affairs said their stance 'restricts Eisenkot's coalition options, but it does not automatically make a unity government with Netanyahu more likely'.
Experts see a deal with Shas and United Torah Judaism, the ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu's bloc, as the most likely scenario, taking Eisenkot to 61 seats. United Torah Judaism advisers have reportedly demanded a written pledge from all 48 lawmakers in Eisenkot's bloc to exempt religious seminary students from military service and shield the law from the High Court, a step Eisenkot and Lieberman reportedly oppose.
Herzog has given Eisenkot until December 6, with a possible 14-day extension to December 20. Eisenkot says he would welcome members of Likud and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party if they back a government under his leadership. Daniel Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, said the meetings serve both sides: 'The coalition formation period is about spin and distortion and trying to gain leverage.'
The two men know each other well. Eisenkot led Israel's military from 2015 to 2019 and was an observer in Netanyahu's war cabinet during the first eight months of the war in Gaza before leaving the emergency government in June 2024. Manna described 'a deep crisis of trust' between them, while noting both prioritise security considerations, particularly on the Palestinians and Iran.
An early test comes on Tuesday, when Eisenkot's allies plan to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud with Yashar lawmaker Matan Kahana, and Eisenkot has challenged Netanyahu and Smotrich to back the move. Even with an agreed programme, Manna said, 'the question of who would serve as prime minister remains the central obstacle', and Eisenkot has so far rejected a rotation with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister meanwhile, and Manna said blocking Eisenkot 'may be enough to preserve his position temporarily', while 'a renewed large-scale confrontation could increase pressure for a national unity government'. If ultra-Orthodox talks fail, Levy said, Eisenkot could make his allies choose between Arab-backed support and leaving Netanyahu in office, or propose a stopgap government to 'get Bibi [Netanyahu] out of power and prepare for new elections'.
