‘These tricks don’t work on me’: Eisenkot hits back at Netanyahu

• Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of using calls for national unity as a political tactic.
• He said Netanyahu knows he lost the election and dismissed his unity appeal as a series of political "tricks."
• Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, short of the 61-seat parliamentary majority.

‘Israeli’ opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot on Saturday accused caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using calls for a national unity government as a political tactic, saying he knows he has lost the election.

"Netanyahu is calling for negotiations while they are already underway; he claims to want unity but... sows division and stokes tensions as if there were no tomorrow," Eisenkot said.

The former ‘Israeli’ military chief dismissed Netanyahu's appeal, saying: "These tricks don't work on me."

Eisenkot's remarks came after Netanyahu renewed calls for a national unity government, arguing that ‘Israel’ needs a broad political coalition at a time of heightened regional tensions.

The remarks reflect growing tensions between the two political rivals as negotiations continue over the formation of ‘Israel’s’ next government following the Oct. 27 election.

Although Netanyahu’s Likud party emerged as the largest party, winning 27 seats, his right-wing bloc secured only 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, falling short of the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority. Eisenkot’s opposition bloc holds 48 seats, while Arab-led parties secured a combined 19 seats, potentially giving them a decisive role in coalition negotiations.

‘Israeli’ President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming the next government, giving him an initial 28 days, with a possible two-week extension, to assemble a coalition.

Netanyahu has repeatedly called for a unity government, while Eisenkot has maintained that any new coalition must be formed under his leadership and adhere to four principles, including mandatory national service and recognition of ‘Israel’ as a Jewish and democratic state.

Read more: Eisenkot warns Netanyahu against ‘dangerous moves’