Netanyahu cites Iran 'nuclear threat' at Israel parliament opening day; Eisenkot slams 'shameful' remark

Israel's caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (Nov 10) again urged a national unity government as he warned of threats from Iran, acknowledging an international shift following US elections last week. He also launched a fierce attack on the Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List, accusing both of seeking Israel’s destruction and warning his political rivals against relying on their support to form a government. "In the very near future, we're going to be confronted by international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and the preservation of this terror regime that seeks to annihilate us," said Netanyahu in his speech at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.

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In an appeal to Haredi lawmakers, Netanyahu told them not to trust the bloc trying to unseat him, arguing that Israel’s Jewish identity is at stake. “To our Haredi brothers I say,” Netanyahu exhorts from the Knesset plenum, “a narrow government [led by Eisenkot] must not be formed. Because I know what is at stake — not only the enormous security challenge, but also the great internal challenge of preserving the Jewish identity of the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu tells Haredi lawmakers that they “represent a large public that is deeply concerned about the state’s Jewish identity, a public that loves Israel and has settled in the heart of the Land of Israel.” He said that his bloc has “safeguarded and will continue to safeguard the sacred values of Israel — and you know very well who your partners in a narrow government would be, and what their attitude is toward Israel’s sacred values.”

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Earlier in the day, former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot reached an agreement with fellow Opposition leaders - Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Lapid on candidates for key positions in the 26th Knesset. The agreement came days after Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially tasked opposition leader and Yashar party head Eisenkot with forming a new government on Nov 8. According to the agreement, former minister Matan Kahana has been named as the candidate for Knesset speaker. Both Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alliance was not able to secure enough seats to form the government on their own after recently concluded polls.

How Eisenkot reacted to Netanyahu's remark?

Gadi Eisenkot, who is trying to form Israel's next government, voiced anger at caretaker Netanyahu after he used the opening of parliament to urge a unity government, citing the threat from Iran. Yashar chair condemned his “hate-filled speech” at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset, saying it only strengthened his view that the Likud leader is unfit for office. “I sat and listened to the delusional, divisive, hate-filled and shameful speech of the outgoing prime minister, in which he exploited a state occasion at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset,” Eisenkot writes on X. “I became even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one minute more.” The Yashar chair repeated his pledge to establish a “national emergency government,” saying Netanyahu’s “rule is dividing Israel and endangering its security.”