JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu remains Israel’s prime minister when the new parliament takes office on Tuesday, but its new, less friendly composition could make his life much more difficult.
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life → remain → Tuesday
Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief seeking to move Israel to the centre, was given the mandate Sunday by President Isaac Herzog to form a new government, a complicated task as neither he nor Netanyahu command a majority.
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he → seek → majority
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, remains caretaker prime minister until then — but the new 120-member parliament can still go to battle against him.
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parliament → serve → him
The lack of a new government “does not infringe upon the Knesset’s prerogatives,” said Assaf Shapira, a political expert at the Israel Democracy Institute.
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Shapira → infringe → Institute
Eisenkot has also warned military chiefs that Netanyahu does not have a mandate to resume war against Iran — although the statement was more about politics than the law with Netanyahu still in charge of national security.
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Netanyahu → warn → security
Netanyahu’s bloc slipped to 53 seats in the new parliament, down from the decisive 68 it commanded previously.
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it → slip → 68
Eisenkot’s core opposition bloc has fewer seats than Netanyahu at 48, but the new parliament also has a record 19 lawmakers from Arab-majority parties that are vehemently opposed to Netanyahu and his hard-right government — although it remains unclear if Eisenkot will seek to work with Israeli Arabs directly.
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Eisenkot → have → Arabs
Here are ways in which the new parliament could turn on Netanyahu:
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parliament → turn → Netanyahu
Commission on Oct. 7 attacks
One of the opposition’s main campaign promises has been to set up a commission of inquiry to probe failures in the famously high-security country that allowed Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the deadliest ever day for Israel.
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that → set → Israel
While Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing on his part, his government has consistently opposed the creation of a national, independent commission of inquiry that would have broad investigative authority with Netanyahu instead supporting a review by political appointees.
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Netanyahu → deny → appointees
Even before a new government is formed, the incoming parliament could set up a special committee on the attack, which would hand over its findings to an eventual commission of inquiry, Shapira said.
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Shapira → form → inquiry
Eisenkot declared after the election that forming a commission would be an immediate priority.
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forming → declare → commission
Repealing Netanyahu-era laws
The new parliament could also move quickly to repeal some of the most controversial laws under Netanyahu, including his efforts to revamp the judiciary — seen by the prime minister as an enemy after he was charged with corruption.
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he → repeal → corruption
The judicial revamp triggered some of Israel’s largest protests with liberals worried about the future of democracy, although the Hamas attack and subsequent wars quickly shifted public attention.
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attack → trigger → attention
The new parliament could aim to repeal the last coalition’s laws that limited the powers of the Supreme Court and made it easier to remove the country’s attorney general.
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it → aim → general
Lawmakers could also roll back exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from serving in the military.
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Lawmakers → roll → military
The exemption has angered many Israelis at a time that the military is stretched thin, although the laws did not go far enough for ultra-Orthodox parties, who are being wooed by at least one opposition figure.
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who → anger → figure
Shapira said repealing Netanyahu-era laws was as simple as calling a vote and reverting to previous policies.
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repealing → say → policies
But the process to pass new laws could take weeks as the opposition co-ordinates its priorities.
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opposition → pass → priorities
The first political clash will concern electing a new parliament Speaker.
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clash → concern → Speaker
According to parliamentary rules, the vote for Speaker can take place as early as during the inaugural session and must happen before a new government is sworn in.
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government → accord → session
An initial clash took place Thursday when three parties in the Eisenkot bloc sent letters to the outgoing Speaker requesting that his successor be elected at the opening session — a timing that Shapira agreed was more common.
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Shapira → take → session
Ohana responded that it was customary to elect the Speaker on the day a new government is sworn in.
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government → respond → day
Naftali Bennett, a key opposition figure, vowed to act “urgently” on the bloc’s priorities.
“We will take control of the Knesset as quickly as possible.”
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We → vow → Knesset
The Aporia
