Opposition seeks new Knesset speaker to challenge Netanyahu’s hold on power

Israel’s new parliament will be sworn in with opposition parties seeking to replace Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu. The speaker controls the legislature’s agenda, so changing the role could give opponents a route to challenge the prime minister even as they struggle to form a government.

The opposition bloc holds 67 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, enough to choose a speaker, and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot may take the role or nominate someone from his Yashar party. But coalition talks are complicated by Jewish-Israeli parties’ refusal to govern with Palestinian-led parties, which hold 19 seats and whose support the bloc needs to outnumber Netanyahu’s coalition. More than 160 former security officials have warned of possible disruption at the swearing-in, while Eisenkot has said parties will need to compromise.