Israeli PM Netanyahu, opposition leader Gantz to form emergency unity gov’t

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz have agreed to form an emergency unity government.

Netanyahu and Gantz, a former defence minister and military chief of staff, agreed to form a war cabinet comprising Netanyahu, Gantz and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a joint statement from Gantz’s National Unity party said on Wednesday.The statement said the unity government will not promote any unrelated policy or laws except those related to the ongoing fighting with Hamas in Gaza.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to Netanyahu’s existing government partners, a collection of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.The Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will serve as observers.

For the last several months, Israel has been mired in domestic political turmoil over efforts by the Netanyahu government to push through proposed reforms to the country’s judiciary, which opponents have characterised as an effort to assert control over the judicial branch in a “judicial coup”.