Israel parliament sworn in as Eisenkot seeks coalition

Swearing-in ceremony details

President Isaac Herzog will deliver a speech at 4pm for the swearing-in of the 120-seat parliament. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to lose his majority even as rival Gadi Eisenkot still works to form a new government. Neither Netanyahu's right-wing bloc nor Eisenkot's opposition holds a majority in this newly formed legislature.

Coalition building challenges

Herzog gave Eisenkot the initial mandate to form a government starting the clock for him to cobble together a coalition within 28 days. The newly formed government would need 61 votes to be approved to take office. With backing from Arab-Israeli legislators who won a historic tally of positions fueled by fury within the minority group against Netanyahu's far-right administration, Eisenkot might reach the required vote threshold.

Key committee nominations

The opposition will put forward Matan Kahana as speaker of the parliament while Avigdor Lieberman is nominated as chair of the foreign affairs and defence committee. Lieberman had been clear he would not allow Eisenkot to rely on Arab-Israelis to come to power instead proposing an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews. The opposition hopes to use its newfound legislative power to move quickly on key priorities including a commission to investigate security failures under Netanyahu.