Israel’s ruling coalition said it wants to form a rare emergency government with the opposition following Saturday’s attacks by Hamas that killed more than 900 Israelis.
(Bloomberg) — Israel’s ruling coalition said it wants to form a rare emergency government with the opposition following Saturday’s attacks by Hamas that killed more than 900 Israelis.
“All the heads of the coalition, without exception, supported the establishment of a national emergency government and authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act for its establishment,” Likud, the premier’s party, said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Some opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and ex-Defense Minister Benny Gantz, said over the weekend that they’d favor such a move.
An expanded government could dilute the influence of Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet members in drawing up battle plans.
Gantz has said that a wartime cabinet would focus strictly on the “security challenges.”
The development follows months of political unrest in Israel over Netanyahu’s plans to weaken the judiciary, with the divisions spilling over into the military.
(Updates with context.)
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