Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will take on the defence minister portfolio, rejecting calls to dissolve his government even as early elections appeared increasingly likely.
Netanyahu says heading to elections now, amid repeated violent confrontations with Gaza militants, was "irresponsible" of his coalition partners.
They have been pushing for early polls since the resignation last week of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman over a Gaza cease-fire.
"Today, I take on for the first time the position of defence minister," said Netanyahu, speaking from Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv in a statement broadcast live at the top of the evening newscasts on Sunday.
"We are in one of the most complex security situations and during a period like this, you don't topple a government. During a period like this you don't go to elections," he said.
The sudden coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of the hawkish Lieberman, who had demanded a far stronger response last week to the most massive wave of rocket attacks on Israel since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
He alleges the cease-fire agreement reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers will put southern Israel under a growing threat from the group, similar to that posed to northern Israel by Lebanon's heavily armed Hezbollah group.
The departure of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party leaves the coalition with a one-seat majority in the 120-member parliament.
Netanyahu's other partners say that makes governing untenable and would leave the coalition susceptible to the extortion of any single member until elections scheduled for November 2019.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett, of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, has already threatened to bring down the government if he is not appointed defence minister.
He and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also of Jewish Home, are set to deliver a statement to the media on Monday.
If the party leaves the coalition, it would strip Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, another senior partner, says another year of such instability will harm the economy.
A meeting between him and Netanyahu on Sunday that was meant to convince Kahlon to stay ended with no results.
No Israeli government has served out its full term since 1988.
Most opinion polls show Netanyahu easily securing re-election, which would secure him a place in Israeli history as the country's longest serving leader.
But several factors could trip him up, including a potential corruption indictment that could knock him out of contention.
Police have recommended he be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges in two cases and have questioned him at length on another.
The country has long been eagerly awaiting the attorney general's decision on whether to press charges.
Netanyahu has angrily dismissed the accusations against him, characterising them as part of a media-driven witch-hunt that is obsessed with removing him from office.
Australian Associated Press
