On Tuesday, the new Israeli parliament begins its work two weeks after the legislative elections that did not result in a clear majority, and two days after former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was assigned to form a new government, at a time when the political scene awaits the first confrontations between the opposition bloc supported by the Arab parties on the one hand, and the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the other hand, over the presidency of the Knesset, investigation committees, and the repeal of previous laws.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 10:46 Last updated: 10/11/2026 - 10:54

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The new Israeli parliament will begin its work on Tuesday, two weeks after the legislative elections and two days after Israeli President Herzog assigned Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff, to form a new government.

The elections did not result in a clear majority, which raises questions about the possibility of parties opposing caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu starting a war against him?

The number of seats in Netanyahu's bloc in the new parliament decreased to 53 seats, after it had a comfortable majority of 68 seats in the previous parliament. While the opposition bloc won 46 seats. As for the Arab-majority parties, which won 19 seats, they strongly oppose Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing government.

Assaf Shapira, a political expert at the Israeli Democracy Institute, says, “Failure to form a new government does not detract from the powers of the Knesset.”

Read also Israel: Netanyahu renews his call to form a national unity government the day after his opponent Eisenkot was appointed

Election of a new speaker of the Knesset?

The first political confrontation will revolve around the election of a new speaker of the Knesset, and the position is currently held by Amir Ohana, who belongs to the Likud Party led by Netanyahu.

Under the bylaws of Parliament, voting to choose its president can be held starting from the opening session, and must take place before the new government is sworn in.

The first signs of the confrontation broke out on Thursday, when three parties from Eisenkot's team sent letters to the outgoing Speaker of the Knesset, asking him to elect a successor during the opening session of Parliament.

But Ohana responded that the established tradition requires that the Speaker of the Knesset be elected on the day the new government takes the constitutional oath.

Naftali Bennett, one of the most prominent faces of the opposition, pledged to move “urgently” to implement the bloc’s priorities. "We will work to take control of the Knesset as soon as possible," he said.

An investigation committee into the October 7 attack?

One of the opposition bloc's most important priorities during its recent election campaigns was to focus on the importance and necessity of establishing a committee to investigate the security failures associated with the Hamas movement's invasion of the Gaza Strip settlements and military sites positioned on the borders of the Strip on the morning of October 7, 2023.

Immediately following the attack, fingers were pointed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he refused to bear any responsibility for these failures. His government also consistently opposed the formation of an independent national investigation committee with broad investigative powers, preferring a review conducted by politically appointed figures.

However, the new Knesset could establish a special committee to investigate the attack, with its findings later referred to an official investigation committee, even before the new government is formed. This was expressed by the first candidate for the position of Prime Minister, Gadi Eisenkot, when he said that forming an investigation committee would be one of his immediate priorities.

Repeal laws passed during the Netanyahu era

Another thing that the new Knesset will be able to do is move quickly to repeal some of the most controversial laws passed during Netanyahu’s era, especially his tireless efforts to implement broad reforms in the judiciary.

These efforts were met with violent resistance, whether on the street through large demonstrations that continued for dozens of weeks, or at the political level among politicians opposed to the Netanyahu government, who expressed their concerns about the future of democracy in the country.

It became clear that Netanyahu considers the judiciary an adversary that must be removed or controlled after the investigations opened against him on corruption charges. The new Knesset will be able to seek to repeal the laws passed by the previous government coalition, which limited the powers of the Supreme Court and facilitated the dismissal of the government’s attorney general.

Representatives can also withdraw the exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service. These exemptions anger a wide segment of Israelis, at a time when the military establishment faces increasing pressure and a shortage of manpower.

But this matter may take many long weeks, despite its ease and simplicity, at a time when the opposition parties have not yet agreed on the foundations of forming the new government, let alone its legislative priorities.

France 24/AFP

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