Netanyahu seeks broad government with parties he says oppose terrorism

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on parties that oppose terrorism to join Likud in a broad national government in a social media post on Monday night, November 2. He said he was willing to hold talks with prospective partners, presenting an invitation to parties beyond his existing allies.

Netanyahu argued that the Israeli public did not want a government reliant on Ra'am and the Joint List. He accused those parties of supporting terrorism and rejecting the existence of the Jewish state. His invitation to other parties was conditional on their not supporting terrorism, and he said efforts to establish a broad government had been underway from the outset.

In the post, Netanyahu also claimed that a clear majority of the Jewish public had chosen Likud as the largest party and selected him to lead the next government. He said his goal was to build a coalition with his current partners and any additional party meeting his stated condition. “I am open to dialogue on this matter,” he wrote.

The appeal was Netanyahu's first call to form a government since the publication of last week's election results. Likud secured 27 Knesset seats, bringing Netanyahu's bloc to 53. Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, won 21 seats, with Eisenkot's bloc reaching 48 overall. The Arab parties took 19 seats.

Before the vote count was finalized, Netanyahu had called early Wednesday for a strong right-wing government. In that speech, he warned against a coalition dependent on Arab parties he described as anti-Zionist. He accused those parties of opposing Israel's existence and attacking its soldiers, and challenged politicians promoting an alliance of people who serve in the military over possible cooperation with them.

Eisenkot set out his own terms for coalition membership on Saturday. He said any Knesset member accepting four principles could help form the next government, which he wanted to be as broad, Zionist and statesmanlike as possible.

His conditions included recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and egalitarian state, upholding the Declaration of Independence's values, and requiring military, national or civilian service for every Israeli citizen. The fourth principle required recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and acknowledging an obligation to destroy its military and governing power in the Gaza Strip.

Eisenkot said elected officials prepared to accept those principles and respond to the moment would be welcome in his proposed government. He described any Knesset member willing to sign on to the conditions as a potential coalition partner.