Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot and his centrist allies launched a sweeping legislative offensive against caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legacy on Wednesday as Israel's new parliament, the Knesset, convened for a heated inaugural session, even as coalition talks remained deadlocked with neither side able to claim enough seats to govern alone.
The opening session set an immediately combative tone, with shouting breaking out among lawmakers, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged members to "do everything to avoid a repeat election" and called on rivals to "reach out a hand for compromise".
Eisenkot's bloc moves fast on key reforms
Eisenkot's Yashar party wasted no time in setting the parliamentary agenda, submitting a series of legislative proposals before the new Knesset. Chief among them was a push to establish an independent commission to investigate the security failures that allowed Hamas to carry out its devastating attack on 7 October 2023, an inquiry Netanyahu has long resisted.
The bloc also moved to repeal a controversial judicial overhaul that Netanyahu's previous government had implemented. That overhaul had sparked some of the largest public protests in Israeli history before being overshadowed by more than three years of ongoing conflict.
Eisenkot's centrist alliance secured its early foothold in the 120-seat chamber with support from Arab-Israeli politicians. That backing has drawn fierce criticism from Netanyahu's base as well as from some right-wing figures who otherwise support Eisenkot. Despite the controversy, the bloc announced it had sufficient votes to install a new parliamentary speaker, Matan Kahana, himself a former senior military figure.
The incumbent speaker, Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu ally, confirmed he had received a request signed by 67 Knesset members to hold a vote for his successor the following Tuesday. While granting the request, Ohana stated he did so "despite my strong opposition to the intention of the emerging coalition".
Neither side holds the numbers to govern
Despite the energy of Eisenkot's opening moves, the broader political picture remains unresolved. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu holds the 61 seats required to form a majority government in the 120-seat Knesset. Before his swearing-in, Eisenkot pledged to "form a national-emergency government as quickly as possible".
Netanyahu, speaking after the inaugural session, made a fresh appeal for a national-unity government, warning that Israel faced an urgent threat from Iran's clerical leadership. He noted that Iran had survived two major Israeli bombing campaigns conducted with the backing of United States President Donald Trump.
"In the very near future, we're going to be confronted by international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and the preservation of this terror regime that seeks to annihilate us," Netanyahu said. Iran has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons, and both Netanyahu and Trump had previously claimed that Iran's nuclear program had been severely damaged.
Eisenkot dismisses Netanyahu's remarks, cancels meeting
Eisenkot responded sharply, dismissing Netanyahu's comments as a "shameful" exploitation of the occasion and declaring the remarks proved Netanyahu was "unfit to remain in office for even one more minute". Eisenkot also cancelled a planned meeting with Netanyahu's Likud party, with Yashar accusing the prime minister of prioritising "his own political survival" over genuine unity.
Netanyahu's personal stakes are considerable. He is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, having held power for nearly two decades, and faces potential imprisonment if convicted on corruption charges once he leaves office. His push for a unity government comes against a shifting diplomatic backdrop, with US Democrats having scored a significant victory over Trump in midterm elections the previous week, fuelled in part by voter frustration over the ongoing war.
President Herzog, who tasked Eisenkot with attempting to form a government, has urged all parties to reach agreement. Whether that appeal will cut through what is shaping up as a deeply personal and politically charged standoff remains to be seen.
