Israel’s new parliament prepares for swearing-in

Israel’s 120-seat parliament is scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday. President Isaac Herzog will deliver a speech at 4:00 pm for the proceedings, according to Al-Monitor. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s camp holds a majority in the new Knesset.

Eisenkot, who was formally invited by President Herzog to form a government, is working to establish a coalition. The National UAE reports that opposition leaders have reached an initial deal on nominations for four major roles. Under this agreement, Matan Kahana of the Yashar party is the opposition's choice for Knesset speaker, while Roy Folkman is nominated to chair a procedure committee.

Liran Avisar Ben-Horin is lined up to chair a finance committee, and Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, is nominated to lead the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defence committee.

The National UAE notes that establishing a full coalition will be difficult for the Eisenkot bloc, which would require support from either defectors from Netanyahu’s camp or Arab parties. Lieberman has indicated an unwillingness to work with Arab parties. Daily Times reports that the political shift could end Netanyahu’s majority and reshape the country's leadership.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, The National UAE, Al-Monitor, France 24 — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.