Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot slams Netanyahu’s ‘shameful’ Knesset speech, urges Israeli emergency government

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday denounced caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the newly sworn-in Knesset as “shameful” and “delusional,” warning that keeping him in office endangered Israel’s security, Anadolu reports.

The Yashar party leader, who has been tasked with forming the next government, accused Netanyahu of using the swearing-in ceremony of the 26th Knesset to sow division and hatred.

“I became even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one minute more,” Eisenkot said in a statement. He urged the swift formation of a national emergency government, saying Netanyahu’s continued rule divides Israel and puts its security at risk.

Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, accused Netanyahu of lying and inciting against Arab citizens to cling to power after his bloc lost its parliamentary majority.

“Soon, Netanyahu will trade the prime minister’s seat for a seat on the opposition benches,” Golan said in a statement, adding that Israel would have a government of “reform and rescue.”

Speaking after lawmakers took their oaths, Netanyahu renewed his call for a national unity government, claiming Iran was seeking to revive its nuclear program. He also claimed that the Joint List and the United Arab List wanted to destroy Israel, as Eisenkot weighs whether a government could rely on their support.

Parties opposed to Netanyahu won a combined 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset in the Oct. 27 election, including 19 held by the two Arab lists. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats.

President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Sunday. He has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. Coalition talks remain complicated by disagreements about military service exemptions sought by ultra-Orthodox parties and opposition from some of Eisenkot’s allies to a government that relies on Arab parties.

Netanyahu faces a corruption trial in Israel and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.