Jerusalem (AFP) - Members of the new Israeli Knesset will be sworn in on Tuesday, at a time when outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lose his parliamentary majority, while his rival, Gadi Eisenkot, continues his efforts to form a new government.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 11:55

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will deliver a speech at four o'clock in the afternoon (14:00 GMT), on the occasion of the swearing-in of the 120-member Knesset, at a time when neither Netanyahu's right-wing bloc nor the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot has a clear parliamentary majority.

The parties opposing Netanyahu hope to move quickly on key priorities, including the formation of a committee to investigate security failures, especially during the attack of October 7, 2023.

On Sunday, Herzog assigned Eisenkot to form the government, giving him 28 days to complete the task, with the possibility of extending the deadline for an additional 14 days.

Prior to the opening of the Knesset, Eisenkot's party announced progress in nominating candidates to hold key positions in the Legislative Council.

The "Yashar" or "Mustaqim" party, headed by Eisenkot, announced its intention to put forward the name of Matan Kahane, who, like him, is a former prominent military officer, for the position of Speaker of the Knesset.

As for Avigdor Lieberman, head of the right-wing "Israel Our Home" party, which belongs to the Eisenkot camp and who played a pivotal role in determining who could join the next government, he will be nominated to head the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.

The opposition candidate for the presidency of the Knesset will need to obtain a greater number of votes than any candidate who enjoys the support of Netanyahu's bloc, which is trying to postpone the vote on electing a Speaker of the Council.

Difficult choices to form a government

As for the new government, it will need an absolute majority, i.e. 61 votes in the Knesset, in order to gain confidence.

Eisenkot can reach this number if he obtains the support of representatives of the two Arab lists that won 19 seats in the Knesset, which is a record result after the Arab citizens of Israel voted massively in light of their rejection of the practices of the Netanyahu government.

But Lieberman was clear in his refusal to allow Eisenkot to rely on the votes of Arab representatives to gain power. Instead, Lieberman proposed establishing an alliance with the Haredi Jews, despite his sharp and repeated criticism of this segment of Israeli society over the years, due to its adherence to exempting its children from compulsory military service.

The main opposition camp, led by Eisenkot, includes 48 seats, which is less than the number of seats in Netanyahu’s camp, but he can reach a majority if he is able to secure the votes of the two Arab lists, whether by including them in the government or, which is the most likely possibility, by obtaining their votes without their participation in the government.

The two Haredi parties, which have 13 seats, could also tip the balance in Eisenkot’s favor if they abandon their long-term alliance with Netanyahu, who supported the exemption of the Haredim from military service without fully establishing the exemption in law.

Any alliance with the two Arab lists or the two Haredi parties is likely to be fragile.

It is expected that Arab citizens of Israel will object to any alliance if Eisenkot launches a new large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Eisenkot largely supported the military decisions taken by Netanyahu during the war, but pledged to take tough measures against extremist settlers in the West Bank who attack Palestinians and steal their property, with almost complete impunity.

© 2026 AFP

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