EASTORA REPORT | Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for national unity in Israel, but his proposal comes with a condition: the parties that helped keep him in power must be part of it. He says that government could permanently eliminate the nuclear threat from Iran.
In a video released on Saturday, November 7, the Israeli prime minister urged parties across the Zionist political spectrum to join his nationalist bloc. “I call for the establishment of a government of national unity,” he said, pledging that it would protect Israel as a Jewish state and “bring unity among us.”
The appeal comes at a precarious moment for Netanyahu. His Likud party won the most seats in the October 27 election, but his alliance secured just 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, short of the 61 needed to govern.
During consultations with President Isaac Herzog, 67 lawmakers recommended former army chief Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, compared with 46 backing Netanyahu. Herzog is expected to choose a candidate on Sunday, although neither camp has a clear route to a working coalition. The nominee will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to secure a majority.
Netanyahu framed the choice in stark security terms. He alleged that a government relying on Arab parties would be dependent on supporters of terrorism and unable to confront Hamas or the threat from Iran. “With a government like that, Israel simply won’t survive,” he warned.
The Arab-led parties hold 19 seats and have endorsed Eisenkot, but Eisenkot has ruled out forming a coalition with them. His party responded to Netanyahu’s appeal by inviting him to accept its principles and join an Eisenkot-led government.
Netanyahu’s unity proposal would preserve his previous allies, including far-right and ultra-Orthodox factions. He did not specify in Saturday’s video who would lead the proposed coalition.
His promise to remove Iran’s nuclear threat “permanently” was a political pledge, not an announced agreement or verified outcome. With the presidency’s decision approaching, the central question is whether Netanyahu’s call can attract new partners without asking his old ones to leave.