Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana: Opposition Moves to Replace Him

Opposition leaders have agreed to make unseating Ohana their first step after the new Knesset is sworn in on November 10. Holding the speaker's chair would give the bloc greater sway over the business of parliament, from votes and bills to the appointment of committees. That holds even if Netanyahu stays on as caretaker prime minister.

The opposition bloc has also chosen Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar! party, as the first of its members to seek the mandate to form Israel's next government.

Senior figures in the bloc call their plan a "takeover of the Knesset," Ynet reported. Ohana's removal comes first. The next steps are establishing the Arrangements Committee, the body that organizes parliamentary proceedings, and repealing legislation the outgoing coalition advanced during the previous term.

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman pressed the speakership issue at a press briefing on Monday. He announced that his party would recommend Eisenkot for prime minister and back Yair Lapid for speaker. "Next Tuesday, we will act to collect signatures to replace the Knesset speaker," Liberman said. He accused Ohana of having "functioned as a political commissar [and] broke all the rules."

The bloc has not agreed who will take Ohana's place. On Monday evening, senior figures in Eisenkot's party ruled out Lapid for the post. "Lapid will not be Knesset speaker. We will not let that happen. Choosing him means killing almost every option for forming a government," they said. Before his Monday remarks, Liberman had reportedly been promoting Oded Forer, fourth on the Yisrael Beiteinu slate, for the job.

Gadi Eisenkot (Photo: Gili Yaari/Flash90)

On the premiership, every party in the bloc has pledged to recommend Eisenkot, including Naftali Bennett's Beyachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu. That adds up to 48 endorsements, matching the bloc's seat total in the election. Netanyahu's bloc won 53.

The two reports differ on two points. Ynet put the Arab parties' haul at a record 18 seats and said the consultations open Tuesday afternoon. The Jerusalem Post counted 19 Arab recommendations, which would lift Eisenkot to 67, and said the consultations were expected to begin Wednesday.

At the consultations, party representatives tell President Isaac Herzog whom they back to form the next government. Religious Zionism-Zehut is scheduled to arrive first, at 5 p.m. It will be followed by Shas, one of the two chareidi parties, and then Yisrael Beytenu. On Thursday morning, United Torah Judaism, the Ashkenazi chareidi party, opens the day. Yashar! and Likud close the round that evening.

"The president wishes to hear the positions of all factions and examine whether there are additional approaches or alternatives that could help build consensus and form a government," Herzog's office said. The office added that the president does not rule out a second round of consultations.

The lawmaker handed the first mandate gets 28 days to assemble a coalition, and Herzog can grant a 14-day extension. If that effort fails, the president may pass the task to another lawmaker or declare that no government can be formed. A declaration would open a 21-day window in which 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset could name a candidate of their own. If every route fails, the Knesset dissolves automatically and Israel goes to another election.