Eisenkot Dismisses Netanyahu Unity Government Call as Political Spin
Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public appeal for a unity government is a ruse, noting that talks between their parties were already scheduled for Sunday.
By Meera Fletcher ·
Yashar party chairman MK Gadi Eisenkot on Saturday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public call for a national unity government, describing it as "a political spin" and saying the prime minister "knows full well that such a meeting has already been scheduled."
"It is set for tomorrow, between the negotiating teams of Yashar and Likud," Eisenkot wrote in a post on X. He accused Netanyahu of presenting negotiations as a new initiative even though they had already been arranged, while simultaneously, in his words, desecrating a formal state proceeding in the Knesset and sowing division and incitement.
Eisenkot said such a trick would not work on him, adding that Netanyahu is aware of his conditions for joining an emergency government under his leadership: accepting the principles he has outlined and parting ways with the extremists.
The former military chief went further, arguing that Netanyahu understands he has lost the election. "He knows that there is an absolute majority against him among the citizens of Israel and within the Knesset, and he knows that a new, good government will indeed be formed," Eisenkot wrote. He charged that the prime minister is waging a rearguard action meant to place obstacles in the way of forming a new government and to prevent the replacement of the Knesset speaker.
Eisenkot said the Netanyahu-led bloc's stated commitment to national unity would be tested this week, when his bloc moves to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud with Yashar MK Matan Kahana. He described Kahana as a former lieutenant colonel, squadron commander and Sayeret Matkal commando, and called on the rival bloc to allow a proper democratic process and instruct its lawmakers to support the appointment.
"This is their opportunity to prove how serious they are. Or, once again, it will all be nothing more than an empty political trick. The choice is theirs," Eisenkot wrote, adding that he is working to form a national emergency government as soon as possible.
Eisenkot's remarks came in response to a post by Netanyahu, who wrote that his security briefing with Eisenkot on Thursday "only strengthened my understanding of how essential it is at this time to establish a national unity government." The prime minister urged Eisenkot to enter the room without preconditions, set aside disagreements and boycotts, and reach agreements for Israel's security and future, including on conscription, which he said could be resolved together with representatives of the Haredi public.
Netanyahu framed the appeal around the threat posed by Iran, writing that "we must remove this existential threat from over our heads once and for all." He argued that a narrow government, or one that relies on supporters of terrorism, could not achieve that goal, while a national unity government could.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, backed Netanyahu's appeal in his own post on X, urging Eisenkot to accept it. "I hope that the prime minister's outstretched hand will be met by a brotherly hand. Gadi, the time has come," Smotrich wrote, pledging that his party would be the spearhead of unity and national responsibility.
