No party won a majority in Israel’s election, so the country will have to be run by a coalition. President Isaac Herzog has given opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the go-ahead to form a new government. Benjamin Netanyahu believes the decision will backfire.
He says a possible alliance between Israel’s opposition parties and Arab parties would bring the country down. Netanyahu claims such a government, dependent on Islamists, would destroy Israel from within.
He made the remarks in a video message on Saturday (7 November), a day before President Herzog’s formal announcement of whom he would task with forming the next government. The president chose Eisenkot.
No side won the majority needed to form a government in the 27 October election. After Netanyahu’s hard-right bloc lost its majority, the opposition has been trying to remove him from power. The opposition camp is led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot.
Eisenkot is also exploring a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. He may also win the support of the moderate Islamist party Ra’am and outside backing from the Arab-majority Joint List.
“A government dependent on Islamists will break the State of Israel from within,” Netanyahu said. “It will create a situation worse than what is happening in the countries of Europe.”
On Thursday, after talks with all political parties, President Herzog said it could be reasonable to give Eisenkot the task of forming a government. In all, 67 members of parliament recommended Eisenkot, while 46 lawmakers backed Netanyahu.
Herzog is also considering a national unity government drawing on parties from both camps. Netanyahu called for such a government on Saturday too.
He said a unity government should be formed with all the parties of the national camp and all Zionist parties that want to keep the State of Israel safe. But this time he did not say clearly whether he wants to lead such a government himself.
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