Israel's New Parliament Convenes, Seeks to Form Government Amid Political Turmoil

Israel's new parliament convened Tuesday with plans to take aim immediately at caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as his rival Gadi Eisenkot vowed to quickly cobble together a new government. Eisenkot, leading a broad left-to-right bloc, will control the agenda from the outset in the new parliament with the help of Israeli-Arab parties, although neither he nor the right-wing Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, hold a majority on their own. "I am committed in this complex situation to form a national-emergency government as quickly as possible," Eisenkot, a 66-year-old former military chief who only recently entered politics, said before his swearing-in. President Isaac Herzog, ceremonially opening the session, called on all sides to work together and avoid a fresh election in a deeply polarised country weary from three years of war. "Nearly 80 percent of the people went to the polls and elected you. You must do everything to avoid a repeat election," Herzog said. "Reach out a hand for compromise, even between rivals."