Netanyahu, Gantz Agree on Emergency Unity Government

Jerusalem, 11 October, 2023 (TPS) -- Coalition and government leaders announced the formation of an emergency national unity government on Wednesday.

The move followed a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and key opposition figure MK Benny Gantz of  the National Unity party met in Tel Aviv. A Knesset swearing in ceremony may take place as soon as Wednesday night.

According to the agreement, a war cabinet will be established to include Netanyahu, Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, while Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Gantz’s party, will serve as observers.

Gantz, Eisenkot and MK Gideon Sa’ar will be sworn in as ministers without portfolio.

Government decisions and legislation not related to the war — including a controversial judicial reform initiative — will be suspended and senior appointments will be automatically extended.

“Thank God there is a unity government for the State of Israel. Now, we are all together for victory in the war and the complete destruction of Hamas and Jihad in Gaza,” Culture and Sport Minster Miki Zohar said, ahead of the official announcement. “This is what the people of Israel expected from us because only together will we win.”

Netanyahu’s coalition party partners on Tuesday endorsed the establishment of an “emergency national government” on Tuesday.

The move comes on the heels of a deadly Hamas assault on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces have been battling terrorists in Southern Israel while also rocket fire from Gaza and escalating tensions along the Lebanese border. The death toll from the attack — the worst in Israeli history — stands at 1,200.

In the hours following Saturday’s unprecedented attack, Netanyahu invited opposition leader Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid,  together with Gantz to join an emergency government. Netanyahu’s call for unity cited a similar emergency government formed between then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and opposition leader Menachem Begin on the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War.

Lapid said that a unity government would send a message to Israel’s enemies and the world that Israel stands united behind the IDF. However, he also signaled that he would only join on condition that far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition be sidelined or ousted, specifically Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionism Party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit Party.