Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in the beginning of the weekly cabinet that a unity government is needed. Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been asked by President Shimon Peres to form a governing coalition, has declared his desire to form a unity government.
Olmert added: “Making a coalition will build the foundation that Israel will rest on in the coming years. I want to bless Binyamin Netanyahu for the mission he has undertaken and wish him success. I believe Israel needs a strong and stable government to face its challenges.”