Israel parliament sworn in as Eisenkot seeks to form government after election deadlock

Résumé détaillé

Gadi Eisenkot and his allies also lack a majority and he has yet to strike deals with parties that could bring him to power ...

Israel's parliament was sworn in on Tuesday without a new government, after a deadlocked general election stripped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority but left his main rivals with no clear path to power.

Lawmakers elected in the October 27 vote took their oaths of office as Gadi Eisenkot, a former general, sought to forge a coalition after Israel's president tasked him on Sunday with forming a government.

Eisenkot and his allies also lack a majority and he has yet to strike deals with parties that could bring him to power. The stalemate has raised the risk that the new parliament's term could be extremely short if Eisenkot and Netanyahu both fail to form coalitions, another round of elections could follow.

Presiding over the swearing-in ceremony, President Isaac Herzog told lawmakers: "You must do everything to avoid a repeat election."

"Reach out a hand for compromise, even between rivals... Look upon one another with generosity. There is much work to be done here, and it requires the ability and experience found in every part of this House."

Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until a new candidate manages to form a coalition. His right-wing Likud party's alliance with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties outperformed election expectations but still lost its majority, now holding 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats.

Eisenkot's centre-right Yashar party and patchwork partner factions hold just 48 seats. But they have potential allies in Israel's Arab-led parties, which hold 19 seats and are aligned with Eisenkot in their vehement opposition to Netanyahu.

This means that the newly sworn-in parliament could still deliver on some of Eisenkot's campaign promises, such as potentially setting up a commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, something backed by the Arab parties but largely opposed by Netanyahu.

It also could allow Eisenkot to replace the current Knesset speaker, a Likud member.

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