Netanyahu invites Gantz to meeting as emergency gov’t still absent

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited National Unity leader Benny Gantz to a meeting on Tuesday evening, while an emergency government had not yet been formed on the fourth day of the war with Hamas.

Despite unanimous agreement by all coalition members that an emergency government was necessary, and opposition leaders Gantz, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman expressing a willingness to join, it had not been formed by Tuesday evening.

On Monday evening, Netanyahu asked the opposition leaders to join an emergency government immediately.

In a meeting on Tuesday, all the coalition leaders expressed support for an emergency government and authorized Netanyahu to form it. The support also came with an agreement that it should be formed even if it means a smaller war cabinet without National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party).

This exclusion would be in keeping with suggestions made by Gantz on Monday as to how the emergency government should look, which included a small war cabinet that would probably not include Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

Ben-Gvir said to be causing problems, Likud denies

Due to this suggestion, Ben-Gvir was said to be causing problems for the formation of the emergency government. In response, the Likud said: “Ben-Gvir won’t prevent the formation of an emergency government at this time.”

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) and Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat (Likud) both criticized the political delays and said an emergency government was needed as soon as possible for the sake of the war and unity.