Bennett Joins Fight Over Knesset Leadership as Divisions Deepen Within Anti-Netanyahu Bloc
A growing dispute over who will serve as the next Knesset speaker is creating fresh tensions among the parties seeking to replace Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with Naftali Bennett reportedly demanding that the position go to his Beyachad party or to a mutually acceptable candidate outside Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
According to a report Wednesday evening by Michael Shemesh of Channel 13 News, Bennett is preparing to insist that his party receive the influential parliamentary position rather than allowing Eisenkot’s faction to determine who will replace current Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
The report comes amid an increasingly public disagreement between Eisenkot and Yair Lapid over the position, with senior Yashar officials opposing Lapid’s appointment despite support for his candidacy from Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman.
Sources close to Bennett denied the Channel 13 report, insisting that the question of who will serve as Knesset speaker has not even been raised during coalition negotiations.
According to the report, Bennett has not endorsed Lapid for the position and may instead favor another candidate, potentially someone from his own party. His reported involvement introduces another complication into efforts by the anti-Netanyahu parties to establish a united parliamentary front following last week’s elections.
The struggle over the speakership began even before President Isaac Herzog opened formal consultations with the political parties regarding the formation of Israel’s next government.
Initially, Eisenkot himself was mentioned as a possible candidate for Knesset speaker, as opposition leaders explored ways to gain control of the parliamentary agenda before a new government could be established.
The situation changed Monday when Lieberman announced that he would support Lapid for the position. That declaration immediately encountered resistance from senior figures in Eisenkot’s Yashar party, who made clear that they would not agree to Lapid’s appointment.
According to a separate report by Channel 12 News, one of the reasons for Yashar’s opposition was Eisenkot’s desire to preserve the possibility of forming a national unity government with Likud. Installing Lapid as speaker could complicate efforts to negotiate such an arrangement.
The disagreements continued Tuesday when leaders of the anti-Netanyahu bloc met to discuss their next steps following the election.
Although the party leaders agreed that they should move quickly to replace Ohana, they were unable to reach an agreement on who should succeed him.
Following the meeting, Bennett publicly called for an immediate effort to remove Ohana from the speakership and urged that Eisenkot receive the presidential mandate to form the next government.
The speakership has become a particularly important position in the current political environment because the speaker exercises substantial influence over the Knesset’s proceedings and parliamentary agenda. Securing the position would give the parties seeking to replace Netanyahu greater influence over legislative activity even before the formation of a new coalition.
However, the emerging disagreements demonstrate the difficulties facing the parties attempting to coordinate their parliamentary strategy.
While Lieberman is backing Lapid, Eisenkot’s party is resisting that choice, and Bennett is now reportedly considering a demand that would place the position in the hands of his own faction or another agreed-upon candidate.
For now, the parties remain united in their stated desire to replace Ohana, but they have yet to agree on who should take his place.
