National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supports the formation of an emergency national unity government due to the ongoing war with Hamas, but reiterates that he blames opposition MKs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot for the current situation, Israeli media reported.
"For nine months, he warned them about Hamas and stressed the need to deal with it," sources from Ben-Gvir's party said. "If they had listened to Ben-Gvir, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation."
Those sources also said Ben-Gvir opposes the formation of another forum aside from the security cabinet to deal with the ongoing war.
Coalition members blame Ben-Gvir for holding up unity government formation
Ben-Gvir's comments sparked backlash from several coalition members, who blamed him for delaying the formation of a unity government.
"This isn't the time for politics, it's time for an immediate and unconditional unity government that will lead Israel to a decisive victory against the scum in Gaza," Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) said. "Enough wasting time on nonsense, the people of Israel are fighting for their existence."
"Itamar Ben-Gvir, stop" wrote Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) on X, formerly Twitter. "The time has come for unity until victory."
"Itamar Ben-Gvir's statement is unacceptable," Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) said. "Unity government now!"