Eisenkot Bloc Proposes October 7 Inquiry as New Knesset Convenes Without a Clear Path to Government

On Tuesday, as the newly elected Knesset was sworn in, the bloc led by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot announced a package of initiatives aimed squarely at Benjamin Netanyahu's record in office. Israel voted on October 27, and the opposition emerged with a legislature dominated by Netanyahu's critics. It has not yet found a way to turn that into a government.

The centerpiece is a demand for an official government inquiry into the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel that day, and 251 others were taken hostage into Gaza. The attack happened on Netanyahu's watch and was the deadliest single day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Eisenkot's centrist Yashar Party and its allies want the inquiry to be official and government-run.

The push lands amid a dispute over warnings. Some media outlets have reported that Netanyahu was alerted by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates before the assault. Netanyahu has denied this and said he would sue the publications for defamation.

The inquiry is not the only item on the list. The opposition also wants term limits for the office of prime minister, and it intends to reverse the judicial overhaul pursued by the Netanyahu government. It is also moving to remove Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu ally. Before the swearing-in, Eisenkot said his side would act for all Israelis, those who voted for it and those who did not, out of deep commitment. He pledged to form a national-emergency government as quickly as possible.

The arithmetic is the obstacle. Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats and Netanyahu's won 53, and neither reaches a majority in the 120-seat chamber. Arab parties took a record 19 seats. Eisenkot could in theory turn to them, but Avigdor Lieberman and his right-wing Yisrael Beitenu oppose that. The party holds seven seats and sits inside Eisenkot's own bloc, so its objection matters. President Isaac Herzog has given Eisenkot six weeks to try to assemble a government.

The day also showed how raw the divisions are. During the swearing-in, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir harassed Arab-Israeli lawmaker Yousef Jabareen in the chamber. Later, Netanyahu addressed the Knesset and called for a national unity government, a proposal Eisenkot has ruled out. He attacked the Arab parties, accusing them of backing Israel's destruction, and argued that unity was necessary to confront Iran. He said Israel would soon face international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and to preserve what he called a terror regime seeking to annihilate the country.

Eisenkot condemned the remarks. Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats, walked out during the speech. His party holds eight seats and belongs to Eisenkot's bloc. On X, Golan wrote that Netanyahu was struggling to accept that the Israeli public had fired him, and was now lying and inciting against the Arab public to cling to power by force.

If Eisenkot cannot put together a coalition within the six weeks, Herzog could hand the task to another lawmaker, presumably Netanyahu. Netanyahu is 77, first took power in 1996, has served three separate stints as prime minister, and is now the longest-serving premier in Israeli history. What to watch is whether Lieberman's objection to the Arab parties holds, since it is the clearest obstacle to an Eisenkot majority.