Eisenkot Unveils Agenda to Reverse Netanyahu’s Policies as Israel’s New Parliament Sworn In

Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday he would undo many of Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies as the new Knesset took its oath.

The former military chief has as long as six weeks to assemble a government that would bring an end to the term of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

At the opening of the session, Eisenkot’s bloc put forward several bills. One would launch an official inquiry into the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Others would impose term limits on the prime minister and reverse earlier measures that curbed the powers of the courts.

“We will act for all citizens of Israel, those who voted for us and those who did not, out of deep commitment,” Eisenkot said before the ceremony.

Speaking in the Knesset’s Chagall State Hall, Netanyahu again charged that Arab-led parties had stolen the election. He also criticized Jewish opposition figures willing to negotiate with them. Eisenkot has not ruled out such talks if the parties recognize Israel as a Jewish state and designate Hamas a terrorist organization.

“I ask you: Are you prepared to be dependent on those whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?” Netanyahu said in Chagall State Hall once the 120 members of the new 26th Knesset had been sworn in.

Eisenkot described the address as “divisive” and “hate-filled.” He added, “I am now even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one more minute.” He then called off a Wednesday meeting with Likud, Netanyahu’s party.

The bloc also filed signatures to remove Speaker Amir Ohana and nominated Matan Kahana of Yashar Party. A vote could come this week. The speaker sets the legislative agenda.

Netanyahu remains caretaker, or interim prime minister, until a new coalition is formed and a permanent prime minister is sworn in. Court rules limit some powers, but he retains full control of national security and the military. Netanyahu urged Jewish parties to form a unity government against an Iranian threat and “set aside all other considerations.”

Final election results from the Oct. 27 vote showed neither side with a majority. Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc took 53 seats. Eisenkot’s bloc took 48. The two Arab-dominated parties, Joint List and Ra’am, took a record 19. Both main blocs fell short of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset.

Netanyahu said the election was fraudulent.

“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters,” he wrote on X on Oct. 28.

“I hope with all my heart that whatever government is formed will lead to unity, connection and healing among all segments of our people—for our very existence depends on it, and we have only one country,” Herzog said at the swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 10.

A coalition without Netanyahu would leave him exposed amid an ongoing corruption trial and potential findings on security failures before the Oct. 7 attacks.

Netanyahu’s prior government pursued judicial changes that triggered large protests. Those measures are among the bills Eisenkot’s bloc now seeks to overturn.

The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks remain the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Demands for a formal state inquiry into the failures have been a central opposition priority since the vote.

Eisenkot, who entered politics after decades in the military and the loss of family members in Gaza, has positioned himself as a moderate alternative while remaining hawkish on security. He served briefly in Netanyahu’s war Cabinet before resigning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report