Jerusalem, Nov 10. (dpa/GNA) – Two weeks after the election in Israel, the new parliament held its first session on Tuesday, which involved the swearing in of all 120 members of the 26th Knesset.
More than a third of them are entering parliament for the first time. With 33 female members, the Knesset has, according to media reports, the highest share of women since the state was founded in 1948.
The parliamentary election on October 27, did not produce clear majorities.
On Sunday, President Isaac Herzog tasked former military chief, Gadi Eisenkot, with forming a government.
The 66-year-old leader of the centrist Yashar party, initially has 28 days to assemble a coalition.
Netanyahu remains in office as caretaker prime minister, and could still secure another term if Eisenkot fails to form a government.
The opposition camp’s first step in the Knesset, is to seek the replacement of parliamentary speaker Amir Ohana, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.
Opposition leaders have agreed on former minister Matan Kahana of Eisenkot’s Yashar party as his successor, according to media reports. The vote is scheduled for November 17.
Replacing Ohana would give the opposition greater control over parliamentary proceedings, as it seeks to reverse key parts of the judicial overhaul pursued by Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government since early 2023.
The opposition also wants to press for the establishment of an independent state commission of inquiry into the failure of Israel’s leadership and security forces before and during the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu has resisted setting up such a commission of inquiry for the past three years. Several hundred right-wing demonstrators gathered outside the Knesset during its first session to protest against the possible participation of Arab parties in a new government, Israeli media reported.
However, there are also considerable reservations within the opposition camp about cooperating with the Arab parties. The Arab parties performed strongly in the election.
The Central Elections Committee said certain aspects of the electoral process are being investigated, but the inquiries do not call the officially announced election results into question as a whole.
GNA