Inquiry and repeal proposals

Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israeli army chief leading the Yashar party, used the day of the new parliament's swearing-in to set out his agenda: an official state inquiry into the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and a broad rollback of the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

His party put two measures at the centre of the push:

• •An independent commission to investigate the security failures that allowed the October 7, 2023 attack - a step Netanyahu has long opposed.
• •A sweeping repeal of the judicial overhaul implemented by Netanyahu's government, which had triggered some of Israel's largest-ever protests before being overshadowed by three years of war.

A tense swearing-in over Arab parties

The opening session of the new Knesset was tense from the start, with rival parties trading barbs and shouting breaking out between lawmakers over the question of possible government support from Arab lists.

• •Several Arab-Israeli lawmakers, descendants of Palestinians who stayed after Israel's creation in 1948, left the chamber during the national anthem so as not to stand for it.
• •Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir heckled Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen, shouting: "Who is he pledging allegiance to, Hamas?"
• •Avigdor Liberman seized on the walkout, posting on social media: "You want to form a government with them?"

Liberman, a right-wing figure inside Eisenkot's bloc, has refused to serve in a government that relies on Arab-majority parties. Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab-Israeli party Raam, who is seen as more moderate, promised to work to replace the Netanyahu government, saying: "We aspire to be part of the solution."

The arithmetic of a majority

The numbers leave both men short. Eisenkot's core bloc holds 48 seats in the 120-seat chamber; a majority would come if the 19 Arab-Israeli lawmakers entered the government or, more likely, voted for it without joining. Liberman's refusal complicates that path.

Netanyahu's position is also incomplete. The two ultra-Orthodox parties hold 13 seats, but United Torah Judaism, with seven, has stopped short of recommitting to him - leaving him with 46 seats. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu has the 61 votes needed to form a government.

Unity calls and mutual barbs

Before his swearing-in, Eisenkot vowed "to form a national-emergency government as quickly as possible". After the session, Netanyahu pushed instead for a national-unity government, citing a threat from Iran's clerical government, which he said has survived two major Israeli bombing campaigns he ordered with the support of US President Donald Trump. He told his audience Israel would soon face international demands that it accept a nuclear-armed Iran and the continued rule of a "terror regime" he said seeks Israel's destruction.

Eisenkot dismissed the remarks as a "shameful" exploitation of the occasion and evidence Netanyahu was "unfit to remain in office for even one more minute". His party cancelled a Wednesday meeting with Likud, saying the premier "does not want unity" and prioritises his own political survival.

Liberman, for his part, proposed an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews despite years of bitter denunciations of their exemption from mandatory military service. Netanyahu publicly pleaded with the community not to trust his rival, arguing that grand vows made now would evaporate the moment, as he put it, a left-led government took office.

President Isaac Herzog, who tasked Eisenkot with forming a government, urged lawmakers to do everything to avoid a repeat election, saying: "Reach out a hand for compromise, even between rivals."

Speaker Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu ally, granted a request from 67 Knesset members to hold a vote for his successor next Tuesday, despite his opposition to the intention of the emerging coalition. Eisenkot's bloc says it has enough votes in the 120-seat parliament to install a new speaker, Matan Kahana, himself a former senior military figure.