Gadi Eisenkot Pledges to Reverse Netanyahu’s Policies as Knesset Swears
Israel’s new parliament convened in Jerusalem on Tuesday with the session’s tone immediately tense.
Gadi Eisenkot, designated to build a fresh Israeli administration, made a commitment on Tuesday to dismantle numerous directives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the swearing-in ceremony of the fresh parliament, as covered by 1News. The pledge sets the stage for a consequential month of legislative action and coalition negotiations.
Eisenkot has up to six weeks to form a government that would end the tenure of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, according to 1News. Netanyahu’s opponents now control a solid majority in parliament.
“We will act for all citizens of Israel, those who voted for us and those who did not, out of deep commitment,” Eisenkot said ahead of the Knesset swearing-in ceremony, as reported by 1News.
Opposition Seizes Agenda
Even though uncertainty persists regarding Eisenkot’s capacity to build a governing coalition, the newly formed Knesset retains the authority to pass laws in the interim, according to 1News coverage. Eisenkot’s bloc introduced a series of bills at the start of the legislative session that target Netanyahu and his policies.
As noted by The Guardian, the agenda features establishing a state commission of inquiry to examine the 7 October 2023 attacks alongside establishing term limits for Israeli premiers, a move that could potentially prevent Netanyahu from reclaiming power.
Furthermore, The Guardian said that the proposed legislative package incorporates multiple measures aimed at dismantling the judicial overhaul driven by Netanyahu, which had diminished the authority held by Israel’s legal system and the attorney general.
The opposition also triggered a process to install a new parliamentary speaker, according to 1News. An overwhelming majority of deputies put forward signed petitions demanding the removal of incumbent speaker Amir Ohana, backed by Netanyahu, with reports from the NZ Herald indicating that Ohana consented to a petition signed by 67 Knesset members to organize an election for his replacement.
Divided Knesset Debates
Netanyahu has sought to undermine the certified election results after his bloc fell short of a majority, repeating unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties stole the elections, 1News reported. In a speech responding to the swearing-in, Netanyahu called lawmakers from two Palestinian-led opposition parties “terror supporters”.
“I ask you: Are you prepared to be dependent on those whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?” Netanyahu said, according to the context.
“I am now even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one more minute,” Eisenkot, the politician tasked with forming a new Israeli government, said according to 1News, denouncing Netanyahu's speech as divisive and hate-filled.
Documentation provided by Al Jazeera indicated that Netanyahu uploaded a video to his social media profile asserting that Israel confronts a genuine hazard of civil conflict if an administration were formed dependent upon Arab faction backing.
“In the very near future, we’re going to be confronted by international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and the preservation of this terror regime that seeks to annihilate us,” Netanyahu said, in remarks dismissed by Eisenkot as a shameful exploitation of the occasion.
In a demonstration of disapproval during Netanyahu’s address, Yair Golan, who heads the centre-left Democrats, alongside Yoav Segalovich—a former Jewish-Israeli police commander who contested the election on the Ra’am Islamist party ticket—exited the chamber, according to The Guardian.