How Israel's new parliament can make Netanyahu's life difficult

Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu remains Israel's prime minister when the new parliament takes office Tuesday but its new, less friendly composition could make his life much more difficult.

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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Until then Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, remains caretaker prime minister -- but the new 120-member parliament can still go to battle against 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.

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.

Netanyahu's bloc slipped to 53 seats in the new parliament, down from the decisive 68 it commanded previously.

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.

Here are ways in which the new parliament could turn on Netanyahu:

Commission on October 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 October 7, 2023, attack, the deadliest ever day for Israel.

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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.

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.

Eisenkot declared after the election that forming a commission would be an immediate priority.

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.

The judicial revamp triggered some of Israel's largest ever protests, with liberals worried about the future of democracy, although the Hamas attack and subsequent wars quickly shifted public 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.

Lawmakers could also roll back exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from serving in the 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.

Shapira said repealing Netanyahu-era laws was as simple as calling a vote and reverting to previous policies. But the process to pass new laws could take weeks as the opposition coordinates its priorities.

Electing new speaker

The first political clash will concern electing a new parliament speaker. The incumbent is Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu loyalist from his Likud Party.

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.

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.

Ohana responded that it was customary to elect the speaker on the day a new government is sworn in.

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."