The parties of the change bloc, led by Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, have agreed on how to divide key posts in the 26th Knesset, including the speakership and the chairs of its most powerful committees.
Eisenkot announced the agreement on Tuesday, hours before the new Knesset was sworn in. He reached it with Beyachad leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Democrats chairman Yair Golan, and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman. The appointments are meant to cover the period during which Eisenkot holds the mandate to form a government.
Under the agreement:
- Knesset Speaker: former minister and incoming MK Matan Kahana (Yashar)
- Arrangements Committee chair: incoming MK Roy Folkman (Yashar)
- Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair: former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu)
- Finance Committee chair: incoming MK Liran Avishar Ben Horin (Together)
The most consequential appointment may be Liberman’s. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is one of the most sensitive in the Knesset, and it would handle any legislation on the status of yeshiva students if the change bloc and the chareidi parties reach an agreement on the draft. Liberman has been one of the most outspoken opponents of draft exemptions.
The Arrangements Committee, under Folkman, will set the Knesset’s agenda, form temporary committees and oversee parliamentary procedure until a permanent coalition is formed. The makeup of the committees is expected to be finalized there and brought to the plenum for approval.
The speakership itself is still unresolved. Yashar submitted the signatures of 67 MKs to incumbent Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud), demanding a plenum vote to replace him with Kahana. A vote is expected within the coming week. United Torah Judaism has said it will not vote to replace Ohana before a new government is formed. The Joint List’s Ahmad Tibi said his party would support the move.
The agreement followed days of negotiations over the speakership. Bennett and Liberman had initially backed Lapid for the post, while Eisenkot insisted it stay with his party.
