Israel's New Parliament Sworn In Amid Political Uncertainty

JERUSALEM: Israel's new parliament will be sworn in Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to lose his majority even as rival Gadi Eisenkot still works to form a new government. President Isaac Herzog will deliver a speech at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) for the swearing-in of the 120-seat parliament, in which neither Netanyahu's right-wing bloc nor Eisenkot's opposition will hold a majority. The opposition hopes to use its newfound legislative power to move quickly on key priorities, including a commission to investigate security failures under Netanyahu that allowed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the deadliest day in Israel's history. Herzog on Sunday gave Eisenkot the initial mandate to form a government, starting the clock for him to cobble together a coalition within 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. Ahead of the parliament opening, Eisenkot's party announced progress in naming people to seek key positions. The opposition will put forward Matan Kahana -- like Eisenkot a former senior military figure -- as speaker of the parliament, Eisenkot's Yashar party said. Avigdor Lieberman, a right-wing opposition leader who has played a key role in deciding who can enter the government, will be nominated as chair of the foreign affairs and defence committee. Eisenkot said the agreement names Roy Folkman as chair of the house committee, former defense minister and Liran Avisar Ben-Horrin as chair of the finance committee.