Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Oct. 11 that he would form a national unity government with opposition figure and former defence minister Benny Gantz.

The announcement comes amidst the ongoing Gaza crisis, where on Oct. 7, southern Israel was taken by surprise by an attack by militant group Hamas, resulting in hundreds of deaths, the vast majority of which were civilian.

This unity government

Netanyahu responded by declaring a state of war with Hamas and obtaining a declaration of war from parliament, as well as starting a concerted air strike campaign in the Gaza strip.

But the Israeli response is expected to escalate, and the formation of a unity government is the next clearest sign of what such action might entail, especially after the unprecedented call up of over 360,000 reservists.

Reunion

Netanyahu has also responded politically by attempting to rally a broad political consensus for his next steps, forming what the Times of Israel has termed an emergency unity government.

It reunites Netanyahu with his former coalition partner Benny Gantz, who had previously served as Defence Minister and Alternate Prime Minister in a coalition government that lasted a year between 2020 and 2021.

Gantz was also a former Chief of General Staff for the Israel Defense Force (IDF).

The unity government has also attempted to draw in opposition figures, such as opposition leader Yair Lapid, but has not yet been able to do so, reportedly due to the presence of far-right political parties.

Nonetheless, the Times of Israel reports that a place has been reserved for Lapid in the unity government.

The direction of the new government is not in doubt, with current defence minister Yoav Gallant, retained from the previous government, promising to "wipe out this thing called Hamas", as quoted by the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu for his part, said that "every Hamas member is a dead man".

Gallant previously announced a complete siege of Gaza, blocking electricity, water and fuel from reaching the territory.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, while condemning Hamas' "acts of terror", said he was "deeply distressed" by the plan for a siege and added that the humanitarian in the Gaza Strip was already in precarious situation prior to the Oct. 7 attacks and retaliation.

What is a unity government?

A unity government is the term often used to describe broad coalition governments, usually consisting of opposing political parties, mostly formed during times of national crisis.

It allows governing and opposition parties to achieve broad political support for their actions, especially in situations where decisions will have long lasting consequences, such as during times of war.

Israel has often formed unity governments before, a prime example being in the run up to what is known as the Six Day War in the 1967.

But such governments can also be formed in order to deal with domestic political crisis as well, such as during 2020 - 2021, when Netanyahu formed a unity government with Benny Gantz, as reported by the BBC.

The governing agreement was meant to alternate the prime ministership between the two men, although the government did not last long enough for Gantz to take power.

Domestic political instability

Israel, prior to Oct. 7, had been undergoing a prolonged period of domestic political instability, with the Netanyahu considered an ideologically polarising figure.

Netanyahu is right-wing, nationalist politician, and also the country's longest serving prime minister, having held the position in three separate stints for over 16 years.

He is unpopular with the opposition for a variety of reasons, but two of the main reasons are ongoing accusations of corruption as reported by the Associated Press.

Netanyahu has also been accused of trying to secure more political power for himself by pushing through controversial changes to the judicial system, as reported by NPR.

Criticism

The latter attempted move has been so heated that it has led to massive protests, with some military and intelligence officers threatening to quit their post or refuse reservists call ups over it, unprecedented in Israeli society.

This led to criticism in the aftermath of the attack that the Netanyahu government was unprepared, as said by Israel's left-wing newspaper Haaretz.

But even the opposition parties, such as those led by Gantz and Lapid, appear to be united with Netanyahu in agreeing that severe military action must follow the attacks.

Lapid, in an interview with France24, said that "the endgame is there will be no Hamas in Gaza".

Netanyahu's unity government appears to at least acknowledge the lack of support it has in other policy realms.

The Times of Israel reported that the unity government agreed that no new legislation would be advanced through Israel's parliament that was not related to the war.

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