Israel’s new parliament to be sworn in as Eisenkot prepares government

Israel’s new 120-seat parliament is due to be sworn in, while Benjamin Netanyahu is set to lose his majority and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot tries to form a government. The opposition wants to use its greater influence in parliament to pursue priorities including an inquiry into security failures before Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack.

President Isaac Herzog has given Eisenkot 28 days to assemble a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension; a government needs 61 votes to take office. Eisenkot’s core bloc has 48 seats, while 19 Arab-Israeli lawmakers could help it reach a majority, though Avigdor Lieberman opposes relying on them. Two ultra-Orthodox parties hold 13 seats and could also support Eisenkot, but either arrangement may be fragile, particularly over military-service exemptions and the war in Gaza.