Israel's new parliament to be sworn in today as Eisenkot works to form a government

Israel's new 120-member parliament is set to be sworn in today, amid a new equation over government formation. With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition facing the loss of its majority, political activity around forming a new government has intensified.

President Isaac Herzog will address the parliament's opening ceremony at 4pm local time on Tuesday. The ceremony will mark the start of the new Knesset's term.

In the new parliament, neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the opposition holds a single majority on its own. Coalition arithmetic has therefore become decisive for forming a government.

President Herzog has already given opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the initial mandate to form a government. He has been given 28 days for the task, which can be extended by a further 14 days if needed.

Eisenkot has already begun efforts to form a coalition government. He is testing whether the opposition parties can be brought together under his leadership to form a government.

Agreement within the opposition bloc has also advanced on the distribution of key posts in the new parliament. Eisenkot said that after discussions with the leaders of his political alliance, there is consensus on appointing his party's leader Matan Kahana as the next Knesset speaker.

Al Jazeera reported that the start of the new parliament has created a wait for the political equation around government formation in Israel to become clearer. The consensus on the speaker's post is being seen as a sign of coordination within the opposition bloc.

It remains to be seen whether Eisenkot can form a coalition government within the given time, or whether the political deadlock deepens further.