Likud lawmaker Elisha Madan to camp in a tent by the Knesset for unity

Elisha Madan, a member of the Knesset for the ruling Likud party, has said he will put up a tent near Israel's parliament building and stay there to call for a unity government. N12, citing the political commentator Amit Segal, reported that Madan made the announcement in a video he published, in which he said he intends to set up the tent as a call for unity.

Segal, writing on his own channel, said Madan would remain at the site "day and night, in cold and rain", and described the initiative as having Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's support. News.co.il reported that Madan said the tent would go up starting that evening and that his two children would be with him, adding that his call was for a government of national unity.

Who is involved

The Knesset is Israel's single-chamber parliament, which sits in Jerusalem. Its members are known as MKs, short for Members of Knesset. Likud is the right-wing party led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Madan sits in the Knesset as one of its representatives.

Amit Segal, the source of the first report, is a prominent Israeli political journalist and commentator who publishes short updates on a channel on the messaging app Telegram. N12 is the news site of one of Israel's main television channels, and its report relayed Segal's account. News.co.il is a Hebrew-language news outlet; its post described Madan in admiring terms, calling him a "hero of Israel", a characterisation that belongs to that outlet rather than to the other reports.

What a unity government means in Israel

In Israeli politics, a unity government is a coalition that brings together parties from across the main political divide, typically including the largest parties of the right and the centre-left, rather than a government formed by one bloc alone. Israel's proportional electoral system means no single party governs on its own, so every government is a coalition negotiated between several parties. Calls for broad unity tend to surface at moments of political strain, when supporters argue that a wider coalition would bring stability or represent more of the public.

None of the reports set out which parties Madan wants to see in such a government, what the arrangement would look like, or what specific circumstances prompted his call.

The link to Netanyahu

The reports differ in how they connect Madan's move to the prime minister. Segal presented it as being backed by Netanyahu. N12's report, also drawing on Segal, said the video came at the same time as a statement by Netanyahu, without saying the prime minister had endorsed the tent. News.co.il did not mention Netanyahu at all. None of the three reports describe the contents of the Netanyahu statement referred to by N12, and none quote Netanyahu or his office directly on Madan's initiative.

A familiar form of protest

Protest tents near the Knesset and other government buildings in Jerusalem are a long-standing feature of Israeli public life, used by campaigners of many kinds to keep an issue in view of lawmakers and passers-by. In this case the person setting up the tent is himself a sitting lawmaker from a governing party.

According to the reports, Madan framed his plan as an open-ended stay rather than a single event, with Segal's account emphasising that he would remain regardless of the weather.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports state how long Madan intends to keep the tent up, or what outcome would lead him to take it down.
• Netanyahu's support is stated only in Segal's report; no statement from the prime minister or his office confirming it has been reported, and the content of the Netanyahu statement N12 mentions is not described.
• No response has been reported from other parties, including those that would need to join any unity government.
• The reports do not say exactly where near the Knesset the tent is being placed, or whether any permit was involved.