Netanyahu Calls For Escalation Of Iran War In Plea For Unity Government With Eisenkot

Current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of the supposed inevitability of impending attempts by Iran to destroy the state of Israel in a lengthy social media post.

In the message, Netanyahu also called upon his primary political rival Gadi Eisenkot to join forces with him in creating a national unity government to tackle the "monumental goal" of defeating Tehran.

"The Iranian regime, which seeks to destroy Israel, is once again working to revive its nuclear program. And let this be clear: this murderous regime, which did not hesitate to murder many thousands of its own people, will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against us. It will do so the moment it manages to resume uranium enrichment and the accelerated development of nuclear weapons," Netanyahu claimed on his X account on Saturday.

Netanyahu, who has held the office of prime minister on various occasions and longer than anyone else in Israel's history, then signalled his intention to re-escalate hostilities with Iran to remove the possibility of the alleged nuclear threat.

"We must remove this existential threat from over our heads once and for all," Netanyahu said.

Doing so, he argued, would require the formation of a broad-tent coalition with Eisenkot and his allies. The Netanyahu-led incumbent bloc and the Eisenkot-led "Zionist" opposition coalition received the largest number of seats in the recent October legislative elections, but neither achieved the majority necessary to govern.

The Arab-majority parties, who won 19 of the Knesset's 120 seats, have therefore become potential kingmakers. Both Arab-led parties - Ra'am and the Joint List - have backed Eisenkot's bid to become prime minister.

Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out governing in coalition with the Arab-led parties, which he accused of being "supporters of terrorism" in the X post. Netanyahu has accused the Arab-led parties of both terrorist sympathies and electoral fraud since the election results were declared, allegations which have been resoundingly rejected by the parties in question.

Eisenkot has also decried remarks made by Netanyahu towards Arab Israelis "since the start of the election campaign" as tantamount to "a racist and violent campaign of delegitimization fueled by the outgoing prime minister and his circle for political reasons."

After receiving more nominations than his rival, Eisenkot was asked by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to form a government.

However, this has not stopped Netanyahu's attempts to remain in charge.

"Gadi, instead of trying to establish a shaky and dangerous government that will be unable to meet, even in part, the immense security and national challenges before us, let us do what is called for: Let us enter the room, without preconditions, set aside all our disagreements and all our boycotts, and reach agreements for Israel's security and future," Netanyahu implored.

Netanyahu also revealed that he had had an "important conversation" with Eisenkot on Thursday, though he did not specify what was discussed by the two Israeli politicians. Eisenkot corroborated the information, but also did not disclose the "substance" of the interaction.

The former IDF Chief Of Staff did, however, say that he had "reached out to all parliamentary factions and to Knesset members who agree with the four [governing] principles I have set out, inviting them to enter negotiations to establish an emergency government under my leadership."

However, Netanyahu made clear that, in his eyes, his meeting with Eisenkot "only strengthened my understanding of how essential it is at this time to establish a national unity government," which would presumably include himself and the Likud party he leads.

An alternative "shaky and dangerous government" comprising a Zionist Opposition-Arab coalition or a "narrow" minority or slim-majority government would be incapable of confronting the "murderous regime" in Iran, Netanyahu asserted.

Israel and the U.S. launched a joint military campaign against Iran in February, and have been engaged in a war of varying intensity with the Middle Eastern nation ever since. In recent days Netanyahu has been lobbying Washington, the senior partner in the campaign against Iran, to restart full hostilities.

President Donald Trump has thus far resisted the pressure from his Israeli counterpart, reports say.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that opposition leaders fear Netanyahu is trying to provoke an escalation with Iran to disrupt the formation of a new Israeli administration.