Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu forms wartime unity government with critic Benny Gantz

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister and Israeli opposition politician Benny Gantz formed an emergency unity government Wednesday to address the ongoing conflict with Palestinian Hamas.

Gantz and Netanyahu were bitter political rivals during Netanyahu's attempted judicial reform, and Gantz is a vocal critic of Netanyahu's efforts to reduce the power of the judiciary.

The government was announced after a meeting at Israeli Defenses Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv. According to the Jerusalem Post, the meeting between the leaders lasted a half hour, with legal teams remaining behind to iron out specifics.

Gantz, who is a member of the opposition National Unity party, gained popularity as a critic and is seen as a leader in the opposition to Netanyahu's judicial moves that prompted nationwide protests earlier this year.

According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu's wife, Sara, objected to the unity government at first before later relenting to the idea.

Current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also will join the war cabinet, as will the National Unity party's Gadi Eisenkot, who previously served as IDF chief of staff.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid reportedly demanded that far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet be excluded from the unity government.

Gantz is a known critic of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who remains in Netanyahu's cabinet.

"Netanyahu will not be able to say that he did not know. When he entrusts the security of the citizens of Israel to Ben Gvir, he abandons them," Gantz said in July during protests against Netanyahu's controversial judicial reforms.