26th Knesset sworn in; Netanyahu enters caretaker status as Eisenkot starts coalition window
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What happened
The new Knesset was sworn in within the past 24 hours, and Benjamin Netanyahu shifted to caretaker prime minister status while Gadi Eisenkot holds the mandate to form a government with backing from 67 lawmakers.
Why it matters
The swearing-in starts the formal parliamentary timetable for electing or replacing the Knesset speaker, constituting committees, and converting a numerical bloc into executable control of the chamber. Until a government is formed, executive authority remains with a caretaker cabinet, which can constrain appointments, legislation, and policy moves that require a stable majority.
Israel's 26th Knesset was sworn in on November 10, 2026, moving Benjamin Netanyahu into caretaker status and opening the formal government-formation period under President Isaac Herzog's mandate to Gadi Eisenkot. The immediate institutional consequences are procedural but politically material: the new parliament can now move to replace the speaker, establish key committees, and test whether the 67-MK anti-Netanyahu bloc can act as a governing majority. For the Prime Minister's Office, this is the opening phase of a live governability contest rather than a completed transfer of power.
Watch for
President Isaac Herzog's office publication of the formal deadline for Gadi Eisenkot's coalition mandate on 2026-11-11 or 2026-11-12 Knesset Secretariat agenda listing a vote to replace the speaker by 2026-11-13 Official coalition faction notices to the Knesset House Committee naming representatives by 2026-11-13 Public signature filing by 61 or more MKs backing a speaker candidate or coalition agreement by 2026-11-13
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