Matan Kahana, a member of the Yashar Party, will bid for the leadership of Israel’s parliament after a consensus was reached among the country’s opposition political groups to replace the current speaker, Amir Ohana. The appointment of Kahana, coordinated by Prime Minister-designate Gadi Eisenkot and Avigdor Liberman, is to be formalized when the 26th Knesset is sworn in on Tuesday.
The leadership shift comes as Eisenkot attempts to assemble a governing coalition following the Oct 27 election, despite his current bloc lacking a parliamentary majority. While Eisenkot has stated that 74 members of the legislature have lost faith in Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, Netanyahu has countered by calling for a Likud-led national unity government, arguing that any administration relying on parties with Hamas supporters cannot effectively fight Iran.