JERUSALEM (The Thursday Times) — Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition leader trying to form Israel’s next government, said on Tuesday that caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unfit to stay in office “for even one more minute”, after Netanyahu used the swearing-in of the new Knesset to accuse Arab lawmakers of seeking Israel’s destruction.
“I sat and listened to the delusional, divisive, hate-filled and shameful speech of the outgoing prime minister, who exploited a state occasion at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset,” Eisenkot wrote in Hebrew on X. “I am now even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one more minute.”
“We must act urgently to establish a national emergency government. His continued rule divides Israel and endangers its security,” he added, tagging his ally Yair Lapid. Eisenkot also called off a planned coalition meeting with Likud after the speech, according to Israeli media.
What Netanyahu said
In his address to the opening session, Netanyahu called for a national unity government to face the threat from Iran, saying “only such a government will be capable of confronting challenges of this magnitude”. He accused the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am parties of seeking “the destruction of the Jewish state”.
Netanyahu and his allies have disputed the result of the October 27 election, alleging foreign interference after Arab-led parties won 19 seats. The results have been certified, and the authorities have dismissed claims of widespread violations.
President Isaac Herzog, who opened the session, urged lawmakers to “do everything to avoid a repeat election” and to reach out to rivals, and called for a full inquiry into the October 7, 2023, attacks, saying the Knesset was duty-bound to “leave no stone unturned”.
A Knesset with no majority
The election left no camp with the 61 seats needed to govern. Netanyahu’s Likud-led alliance with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties won 53 seats, Eisenkot’s Yashar party and its partners 48, and Arab-led parties 19.
Herzog gave Eisenkot the mandate to form a government on Sunday. He has until December 6, with a possible extension to December 20. His options are a minority government relying on outside support from Arab parties, winning over ultra-Orthodox parties that have so far refused to join him, or a unity deal with Netanyahu, which his comments on Tuesday make harder still.
On the Knesset’s first day, Eisenkot’s bloc filed bills to set up a state commission of inquiry into October 7, impose term limits on prime ministers and repeal the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul. It has also named Matan Kahana as its candidate for Knesset speaker.
