Swearing-in ceremony

Israel's new parliament is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, with President Isaac Herzog delivering a speech at 4pm (14:00 GMT) to mark the seating of the 120-seat chamber. The ceremony opens a legislature in which neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the camp of opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot holds a majority.

Eisenkot received the mandate to form a government on Sunday and is working to assemble a coalition.

Fight over the speaker's chair

The contest for the chamber's top post begins as soon as it convenes. Eisenkot's Yashar party said the opposition will put forward Matan Kahana, a former senior military figure like Eisenkot, as its candidate for speaker of the parliament.

• •The opposition's choice would need more votes than anyone backed by Netanyahu's bloc.
• •Netanyahu's camp has been trying to push back the speaker vote.
• •Eisenkot's party announced progress in naming candidates for key positions ahead of the parliament's opening.

Key committee for Lieberman

Avigdor Lieberman, a right-wing opposition leader who has played a key role in deciding who can enter the government, is to be nominated as chair of the foreign affairs and defence committee.

Lieberman has said he would not allow Eisenkot to rely on Arab-Israeli lawmakers to come to power, proposing instead an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews despite previously denouncing their military-service exemption.

What the new parliament plans

The opposition hopes to move quickly on its priorities, including a commission to investigate the security failures under Netanyahu that allowed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the deadliest day in Israel's history.

Any government that emerges will need to clear a fixed bar. A newly formed government would need 61 votes in the 120-seat chamber to be approved and take office.

For now, the next step sits with Eisenkot, who holds the mandate granted on Sunday and has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to put together a coalition capable of reaching that threshold.