Israeli election campaign

Israel’s newly elected parliament took the oath of office on Tuesday in Jerusalem, opening a volatile legislative session defined by a direct challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot used the swearing-in ceremony to formally launch his coalition-building effort, declaring the incumbent prime minister incapable of leading the country.[1][3]

The 120-seat Knesset convenes with no single faction holding a clear majority, deepening a political deadlock that has paralyzed the national government. Netanyahu’s Likud party remains the largest single faction with 32 seats, but his traditional right-wing and religious alliance fell short of the 61 seats required to govern.[1][4]

"The current leadership is fundamentally unfit to guide Israel through its compounding security and domestic crises," Eisenkot told reporters outside the plenary hall on Tuesday. He emphasized that his mandate is to build a broad emergency government that restores institutional stability.[3]

To outmaneuver Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance, the opposition has already begun allocating powerful committee roles to secure swing votes. The Eisenkot-led bloc nominated Matan Kahana of the Yashar faction to serve as the new Knesset speaker, a critical position that controls the legislative agenda.[2]

In a parallel move designed to project security credentials, the coalition tapped Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman to head the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. That appointment places a hawkish Netanyahu critic in charge of parliamentary oversight for military operations.[2]

Securing the Arab bloc

Eisenkot’s path to the required 61-seat majority relies heavily on unprecedented support from Arab-majority parties, who control 10 crucial seats and have historically remained outside formal governing coalitions. These factions have signaled their willingness to back the former military chief from the outside to ensure Netanyahu’s departure.[4][5]

The arrangement remains fragile, as Eisenkot must balance the demands of left-wing and Arab lawmakers with the hardline security postures of partners like Liberman. Arab faction leaders have demanded concrete commitments on civil equality and infrastructure funding in exchange for their crucial parliamentary backing.[1][5]

Netanyahu, who has dominated Israeli politics for much of the last 15 years, dismissed the swearing-in maneuvers as an illegitimate power grab. His Likud party retains a formidable bloc of seats and is actively attempting to peel away right-leaning defectors from Eisenkot’s fragile alliance.[1][3]

The political maneuvering occurs against the backdrop of severe regional tension, making the defense committee assignments particularly sensitive. Liberman’s installation at the defense panel is intended to reassure right-wing voters that an Eisenkot government relying on Arab support will not soften its military posture.[2][5]

The battle for the speaker

Control of the Knesset speaker’s gavel represents the first major test of Eisenkot’s coalition math. Replacing the incumbent Likud-aligned speaker with Kahana would allow the opposition to fast-track legislation aimed at preventing indicted politicians from forming a government.[1][2]

Kahana, a former religious affairs minister, brings religious Zionist credentials that Eisenkot hopes will insulate the bloc from right-wing criticism. The vote for the speakership is expected within the week and will serve as a definitive headcount for the anti-Netanyahu forces.[2]

If the opposition successfully installs Kahana, Netanyahu’s ability to stall the transition of power will be severely curtailed. A new speaker can control floor debates, schedule confidence votes, and block procedural delays that the incumbent prime minister has historically utilized to survive tight margins.[1][2]

"Seizing the speaker's chair is the prerequisite for everything else," a senior Yashar party official noted during the parliamentary reception. The official confirmed that negotiations over the remaining committee chairmanships are continuing around the clock in the Knesset backrooms.[1][2]

Netanyahu's counter-strategy

The incumbent prime minister is not conceding the transition, utilizing his caretaker status to project authority while his deputies work the phones. Likud negotiators are specifically targeting members of Kahana’s Yashar faction, warning them that partnering with left-wing and Arab parties will destroy their political careers.[1][4]

AI

Netanyahu’s strategy relies on running out the clock on Eisenkot’s 28-day presidential mandate to form a government. If Eisenkot fails to present a viable coalition by the early December deadline, the mandate could return to the Knesset or trigger yet another round of national elections.[4][5]

The deadlock has left government ministries operating on temporary budgets and delayed critical procurement decisions. Financial markets in Tel Aviv have shown signs of strain, with investors expressing concern over the prolonged absence of a fully empowered executive branch.[1][5]

International observers are closely monitoring the transition, as Israel’s next government will inherit complex diplomatic challenges, including stalled regional normalization efforts. Foreign diplomats stationed in Jerusalem have privately expressed a desire for a swift resolution to the parliamentary paralysis.[4][5]

The ticking constitutional clock

Eisenkot received the formal mandate to form a government on November 7, giving him a rapidly closing window to finalize the coalition agreements. His negotiating team has set an internal deadline of late next week to present the final cabinet roster to the president.[4][5]

The inclusion of Liberman in a central security role was one of the first finalized pieces of this puzzle. By locking in the Yisrael Beytenu leader and his 6 parliamentary seats early, Eisenkot secured a crucial bloc of secular right-wing votes that are mathematically essential for the threshold.[2][5]

However, the reliance on outside support from Arab-majority parties remains the coalition's most vulnerable pressure point. Likud campaign messaging has relentlessly attacked this arrangement, attempting to spark a public backlash that might frighten centrist lawmakers away from the final vote.[1][3]

The coming days will determine whether Eisenkot’s tactical parliamentary victories translate into a durable executive government. The 2026 swearing-in ceremony marked the end of the election phase and the beginning of a brutal legislative trench war over the shape of Israel's future leadership.[1][4]

A fractured mandate

Even if Eisenkot successfully swears in a cabinet, his government will face the constant threat of collapse over minor policy disagreements. The ideological distance between his right-wing security partners and his left-wing domestic backers means every major vote will require exhaustive renegotiation.[1][5]

For now, the shared objective of removing Netanyahu is providing enough adhesive to hold the disparate factions together. Lawmakers from across the anti-Netanyahu spectrum spent Tuesday projecting unity, taking group photographs in the Knesset corridors and issuing coordinated statements of purpose.[1][3]

The urgency of the coalition talks is compounded by the looming expiration of several temporary security directives that require parliamentary renewal. Without a functioning defense committee, the military faces administrative hurdles in extending emergency deployments and approving classified budget transfers for the upcoming fiscal quarter.[2][4]

Eisenkot’s military background—having served as the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff from 2015 to 2019—is central to his pitch to the Israeli public. His own faction holds just 12 seats, forcing him to build a coalition that spans the entire ideological spectrum to reach the 61-vote minimum.[3][5]

The resolution of this deadlock will reshape the Israeli political landscape for the remainder of the decade. As the new parliament settles into its chambers, the race to secure a governing majority is consuming every ounce of political capital in Jerusalem.[1][4]