Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot released a political statement Friday, shortly before Shabbos, laying out his plan to form a national emergency government as quickly as possible. He said the new government would first rest on the four Zionist change-camp parties, with other factions and Knesset members then invited to join under his leadership if they accept four foundational principles, either immediately or in stages.
Eisenkot said Israel is in “a real, tangible and dangerous emergency,” arguing that the current government threatens Israeli democracy while war fronts remain open and the country still faces serious diplomatic and security tests. The remarks came against the backdrop of negotiations among the bloc parties and the consultations underway at the President’s Residence.
Pointing to those consultations, Eisenkot said only 46 Knesset members supported continuing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s tenure, while 74 did not express confidence in him. “A situation in which a minority caretaker prime minister, who has lost the public’s trust so sharply, continues to operate the security establishment and law-enforcement agencies is a dangerous situation that must not continue even for a single day,” he said.
He said he and his partners have been holding intensive talks to form a government, with significant progress and even breakthroughs already recorded. Some of those meetings were not made public, he added, and the contacts have continued into recent hours. The four principles he set out are recognition of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; acceptance of the values of the Declaration of Independence; a service obligation for all, whether military, national or civilian; and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization, together with a commitment to dismantle its military and governing power.
Eisenkot said he intends to approach every Knesset faction and invite them into a government under his leadership, as long as they sign onto those principles, “now, or later.” He expressed hope of receiving the mandate to form a government at the beginning of next week and said he intends to carry it out. “Israel needs stable, unifying and responsible leadership that won clear support from the people and Knesset members. That is exactly what I intend to do. I commit.”
In a sharp closing warning, Eisenkot said that anyone who tries to dissolve or sabotage the formation of that government for personal rather than substantive reasons “will be remembered in history as someone who did not rise to the magnitude of the hour and did not act to save Israel in an emergency. It will not be forgiven him.” The warning landed as a message to Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, who has rejected a minority government.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
