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JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference on Saturday that after the general elections expected in October this year, he wants to form a broad national government.

Netanyahu currently heads a narrow coalition that includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox factions. Most recent polls in the Israeli media have predicted that the current coalition factions will gain at most 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament, not enough for him to form a coalition again in the current structure.

He noted that a broad coalition is preferable to a left-wing government "that would be dependent on Arab parties."

According to the polls, the main opposition parties will be able to form a government only in cooperation with the Arab parties. Some opposition parties, however, refuse such cooperation, claiming the Arab parties do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Netanyahu said his intention to form a broad coalition means "enough boycotts, I'm not boycotting anyone, everyone can join." He said that joining such a coalition would be conditioned on preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party, currently second in the polls behind Netanyahu's Likud party, said in a statement in response that "boycotts are a campaign from a previous life."

"A prime minister who blindly led to a historic low, who works day and night to create division and incitement, who invests all his energy in encouraging ultra-Orthodox evasion of military service, is unworthy of this people and certainly not to preach a moral about unity," he said.