Benjamin Netanyahu warns Islamist-dependent coalition threatens Israel amid Eisenkot alliance
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is raising alarms over a possible new government led by the opposition, which might team up with Arab parties.
He says such a coalition could "Such a government, dependent on Islamists, will dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is happening in European countries, and far worse than that," just as President Herzog is about to pick who gets to form the next government.
Meanwhile, Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and political newcomer, is working on an alliance that has opened the door to a once improbable alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews and might also include Raam, whose leader has recognized Israel as a "Jewish state."
Joint List may back coalition
The coalition could also get support from the Arab-majority Joint List, adding to Netanyahu's concerns about national unity.
President Herzog wants to see a government that brings different groups together.
In response, Eisenkot's Yashar party has challenged Netanyahu's Likud to drop ties with extremist factions if they're truly serious about unity.
With all these moving parts, Israeli politics feels especially tense and divided right now.