Party leaders in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to nominate incoming Yashar MK and former minister Matan Kahana as their candidate for Knesset Speaker, ahead of the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.
The announcement comes after agreements were reached following an ongoing dispute between party leaders in the bloc - Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar), Naftali Bennett (B'Yachad), Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), and Yair Golan (the Democrats) - over who should hold the role, which will grant the opposition bloc greater control over the Knesset's legislative agenda in the period before a government is formed.
It was also announced that Liberman would serve as chairman of the key Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The committee oversees national security matters and military budgets, and, notably, also deals with legislation related to IDF conscription.
The bloc also announced agreements on appointments to other key Knesset committees for the period before a government is formed: the Finance Committee and the Arrangements Committee, a temporary Knesset committee responsible for organizing the Knesset's work at the beginning of a new parliamentary term.
Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, a member of Bennett's B'Yachad list, was selected to head the Finance Committee.
Incoming Yashar MK Roy Folkman was selected to head the Arrangements Committee.
Knesset Speaker nominee Kahana previously held the role of Religious Services minister from 2021 until 2022. He remained an MK until July 2025, when he resigned his seat as a member of the Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz. He is an IDF Colonel (res.) who served in the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) and served concurrently with Bennett.
The composition of the committees will be discussed and finalized during the Arrangements Committee's deliberations during the week and brought to the Knesset plenum for approval next Wednesday, Yashar said.
Yashar added that further agreements were reached on the establishment of special committees, with further details to be published separately at a later date.
The opposition bloc has pushed to replace current Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a member of Netanyahu's Likud, to have greater control over the parliamentary agenda, including votes, legislation, and committee appointments, even if Netanyahu remained in office as head of a caretaker government.
The Yashar announcement on the nominations comes after negotiations on the matter within the bloc between party leaders.
There had been disagreements in the bloc regarding who the candidate for Knesset Speaker should be. Liberman announced last week that he would support B’Yachad’s Yair Lapid for Knesset speaker. However, he held a joint meeting with Eisenkot on Monday, where the two reportedly agreed on the nominee.
At least 61 MKs must formally sign a request or vote to replace the speaker of the Knesset.
Ohana said last week that he would not hold a vote to replace the Knesset speaker on the day of the inaugural ceremony but instead would schedule it for the following week if a formal request with sufficient support was submitted.
The 26th Knesset will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, amid an ongoing political deadlock, as the October 27 election results showed both Netanyahu's bloc and the opposition bloc lacking the 61-seat majority required to form a coalition.
Eisenkot officially received the mandate to form a government from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday at a ceremony at the President’s Residence.
By law, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, starting Sunday, and the president may grant him an extension of up to 14 additional days if necessary.
Eisenkot has said “unconventional steps” would be required to form a government and expressed confidence that it would be possible.
This is a developing story.