Tel Aviv, Nov. 14 -- Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot to hold talks without preconditions on forming a national unity government, proposing a coalition comprising Jewish-majority parties to address the country's security challenges, particularly the threat posed by Iran.

However, Eisenkot dismissed the offer as "another spin", saying negotiations between the Likud and Yashar parties had already been scheduled for the following day.

In a video statement on Saturday, Netanyahu said his recent conversation with Eisenkot reinforced his belief in the need for a broad-based government, arguing that a narrow coalition or one dependent on parties he described as supporters of terrorism wo...