Israeli government, opposition unite to form an emergency war cabinet as Gaza ground offensive preparations continue

10/12/2023 / By Arsenio Toledo

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached out to members of the opposition to form an emergency unity war cabinet amid ongoing hostilities between the Israeli state and Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

Almost all political parties in Israel represented in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, have spoken, expressing their full backing of the Israel Defense Forces and in support of the current conservative government of Netanyahu. (Related: Netanyahu promises to turn Gaza into “rubble” following Hamas attack – they will pay “unprecedented price.”)

Among the opposition parties, Yesh Atid, National Unity, Yisraeil Beitenu and Labor issued a joint statement calling on the international community to condemn the acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas.

“In days like these there is no opposition and no coalition in Israel,” said the leaders of the four parties. They added that they “are united in the face of terrorism” and are determined to strike back with “a strong and determined fist” as they call on their allies abroad to support their retribution against Hamas and all the other Palestinian militant groups that cooperate with it.

“It is necessary to mobilize the international community against terrorism,” the statement continued. “We call on the citizens – Obey the directives of the Home Front Command, take care of yourselves and together we will overcome terrorism.”

Netanyahu negotiating with opposition leaders to form united cabinet

Negotiations between Netanyahu’s conservative coalition and opposition parties are still ongoing. For now, the only opposition party to have agreed to a unity war cabinet with Netanyahu is the center-leaning National Unity party of senior opposition figure Benny Gantz, a retired IDF general who previously served as minister of defense from 2020 to 2022.

“Our partnership is not political, it is a shared fate,” said Gantz in a televised address alongside his erstwhile opponent Netanyahu. “At this time we are all the soldiers of Israel.”

In the same address, Netanyahu said the people of Israel as well as its political leaders were united. “We have put aside all difference because the fate of our state is on the line,” he said.

As part of the negotiations, five members of the National Unity party including Gantz will be added to the unity war cabinet as ministers whose specific portfolios will be determined in the coming days. Two other National Unity members will join the Defense Ministry as observers for the duration of the conflict.

Gantz and Netanyahu have also agreed to not advance any legislation in the Knesset or government resolutions during the conflict that are not related to managing the war.

Other opposition parties are still considering Netanyahu’s offer. Chief opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid of the liberal-leaning Yesh Atid party has stated his desire to unite with Netanyahu’s Likud party but noted that it would be impossible to manage the war with “the extreme and dysfunctional composition of the current cabinet.”

Lapid has called on Netanyahu to remove the 13 members of the far-right and extremist Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties from the government in order to bring in the 24 members of Lapid’s Yesh Atid.

“I’m willing to put aside our differences and form an emergency, narrow, professional government with [Netanyahu] to manage the difficult and complex operation ahead of us,” said Lapid.

Among Lapid’s concerns are that extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have made policy proposals and incendiary comments in support of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.

Watch this Oct. 11 episode of “Brighteon Broadcast News” as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses how Israel is planning to commit an ethnic cleansing operation against the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.