(Axios) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed on Wednesday to form an emergency unity government as the fighting with Hamas in Gazacontinued for a fifth day.
Why it matters: The fact that Gantz, a member of the opposition, is joining the government underscores how big the crisis in Israel is as a result of the deadly Hamas attack.
- As a former defense minister, Gantz’s role in the new unity government will significantly strengthen the security experience around the decision-making table.
- Gantz has for months been gaining more favorability than Netanyahu in the polls, mainly due to the government’s controversial judicial overhaul.
Driving the news: Since the Hamas attack on Saturday, Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid have called for the formation of a unity government.
- While Lapid demanded that the far-right parties be excluded from the security cabinet in the unity government, Gantz’s only condition was to form a smaller ministerial committee that would run the war effort.
- Netanyahu hesitated for a few days and put forward his own conditions but slowly agreed to move ahead.
Between the lines: According to several reports in the Israeli press, the prime minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu objected to the formation of a unity government, which made the move harder.
- But after reports about her objections emerged, Sara Netanyahu issued a short statement on her Instagram page on Wednesday calling for a unity government.
State of play: The unity government will only exist until the end of the war in Gaza, according to the agreement between Netanyahu and Gantz.
