Israel's caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated his call for a national unity government with his opponent Gadi Eisenkot, who in turn dismissed the appeal as a ruse. The exchange comes as Eisenkot is negotiating to form a government after he was tapped for the post of premier on Sunday.

In a video statement, Netanyahu said a meeting with Eisenkot on Thursday had strengthened his conviction that a national unity government was essential to guarantee Israel's security and could "eliminate the Iranian threat once and for all". He said such a government would be made up of parties that recognise Israel "as a state for the Jewish people", and warned against Eisenkot's plan for a minority "national emergency government". Under that plan, the 48 lawmakers in Eisenkot's bloc would vote in favour against the 46 Netanyahu backers, while the 26 other members from Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties could abstain, allowing approval without an absolute majority in the 120-seat Knesset.S1

Eisenkot responded within minutes, saying Netanyahu "knows he lost the election" and accusing him of playing "tricks" by calling for unity while sowing division. Eisenkot was given 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a new government, and negotiations are expected to be difficult, especially as Netanyahu has campaigned to discredit Arab-Israeli parties that won a record number of seats. Eisenkot has said he would be open to working with members of Netanyahu's Likud party and outgoing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism if their commitment to unity is "sincere", but a unity government including Netanyahu himself remains unlikely after Eisenkot denounced his "racist" campaign against Arab parties. On Saturday Eisenkot reiterated his call for a "break with the extremists", notably supporters of the far right.S1S2