JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called again Monday for a unity government that would keep him in power, a day after opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot was given a mandate to form a coalition.
"A unity government is, simply, a necessity," Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media that ignored President Isaac Herzog on Sunday formally giving Eisenkot the first chance at a government.
Eisenkot's opposition bloc received 48 out of 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel's parliament in October 27 elections. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats.
But Eisenkot received a majority of recommendations in parties' talks with Herzog. He could rely on Arab-majority parties, which won a record 19 seats after unprecedented voter turnout on anger over racism and marginalisation by Netanyahu's far-right government.
