Dimona Mayor Benny Biton, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has proposed establishing a national unity government with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and US President Donald Trump serving as guarantors of an agreement.
Speaking Sunday morning to Kan Reshet Bet, Biton claimed that Netanyahu wants a unity government with opposition parties and urged their leaders to overcome their differences and begin negotiations.
"I am telling you firsthand: Benjamin Netanyahu wants unity," Biton declared. "I am saying this publicly and with certainty. This is not a bluff or a campaign ploy."
Biton proposed that Herzog and Trump serve as guarantors to address opposition leaders' concerns that any agreement could be broken.
"Yesterday, I also spoke with the President of the State of Israel. Both Isaac Herzog and the President of the United States will serve as guarantors for Gadi Eisenkot," he said.
Biton did not claim that either president had agreed to the proposal. He also said he did not know whether Netanyahu and Trump had discussed the possibility of a unity government.
He appealed directly to Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, and Naftali Bennett to put aside their election-related differences.
"I am calling on both sides, without exception: Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Liberman, and Naftali Bennett. Put your egos aside. The election campaign is over. Sit together and reach an agreement," he said.
Addressing Eisenkot personally, Biton invoked their military backgrounds to stress the urgency of forming a government.
"I am speaking to you, Gadi Eisenkot, as a paratrooper to a Golani soldier. The State of Israel is in danger right now. A government must be formed, and immediately," he said.
Biton also warned opposition leaders against attempting parliamentary moves without Likud's consent, particularly replacing the Knesset speaker.
"Replacing the Knesset speaker would be, how should I put it, a declaration of war," he said, adding that any change must be based on mutual agreement. "If they attempt unilateral parliamentary moves, that is a red line."
Biton warned that failure to reach a unity agreement could lead to a political deadlock and another election. He also dismissed the prospect of an opposition-led government without Likud, predicting that it "would not happen and would not last more than six months."