Israeli president warns against repeat election in new Knesset
Israeli President Isaac Herzog opened the 26th Knesset on Tuesday by urging party leaders to make concessions and avoid a repeat election. He also called for an inquiry into the October 7 attacks, as opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot tries to build a coalition.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned against a repeat election in the new Knesset session on Tuesday, urging party leaders to "make concessions" and do "everything possible to avoid a repeat election." He spoke at the swearing-in of newly elected members of the 26th Knesset, after the vote left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc short of a majority.
Herzog also urged lawmakers to "leave no stone unturned" in an investigation into the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
On Sunday, Herzog tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government. Eisenkot has 28 days to assemble a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension.
His bloc is also short of a majority. Eisenkot has yet to strike deals with parties that could bring him to the 61 seats needed to govern. If neither he nor Netanyahu forms a coalition, another round of elections could follow.
"I am committed in this complex situation to form a national emergency government as quickly as possible," Eisenkot said ahead of the Knesset session.
Inquiry into October 7
Eisenkot and his allies hope to use their new legislative power to move quickly toward an independent inquiry into the October 7 attacks. Netanyahu has refused to form such a commission. He argues that a panel appointed by the Israeli Supreme Court would be biased against the government.
Iran, the US and regional ties
Herzog said Tehran "does not stop even for a moment in its plots and threats, whether directly or through its partners." He made the same point in his speech delegating Eisenkot to form the government.
He said Israel "must fortify the alliance" with the United States, as disapproval of Israel grows among the American public. He also called for a political horizon in the region. "Alongside the stubborn and determined war against those who seek to harm us, we must build a stable political horizon in the region with our neighbours," he said.
Herzog added that Israel must "strengthen and even add to the peace agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain."
Disputed result and the vote for speaker
The speaker of the Knesset, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, will stay on in a caretaker role until a new vote is held. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank, said Eisenkot's party, Yashar, has already submitted 61 signatures of new lawmakers demanding that the vote happen as soon as possible.
Netanyahu and his bloc continue to contest the October 27 election result. They claim foreign interference after Palestinian-Israeli parties won a 19-seat bloc.
"Those protests have gone unanswered because the results have been certified and every relevant authority has dismissed the allegations that there were widespread violations," Odeh said.
