How Israel's new parliament can make Netanyahu's life difficult - EWN

JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu remains Israel's prime minister when the new parliament takes office Tuesday, but its new, less-friendly composition could make his life much more difficult.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief seeking to move Israel to the centre, was given the mandate Sunday by President Isaac Herzog to form a new government, a complicated task as neither he nor Netanyahu command a majority.

Until then, Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, remains caretaker prime minister -- but the new 120-member parliament can still go to battle against him.

The lack of a new government "does not infringe upon the Knesset's prerogatives", said Assaf Shapira, a political expert at the Israel Democracy Institute.

Eisenkot has also warned military chiefs that Netanyahu does not have a mandate to resume war against Iran -- although the statement was more about politics than the law, with Netanyahu still in charge of national security.

Netanyahu's bloc slipped to 53 seats in the new parliament, down from the decisive 68 it commanded previously.