Eisenkot bloc and Lapid file bills on the 26th Knesset's opening day

Parties led by Gadi Eisenkot submitted a package of bills as the 26th Knesset opened in Jerusalem, among them proposals to set up a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, to cap how long a prime minister may serve, and to undo laws passed under the outgoing government's judicial overhaul. The Times of Israel reported that the filings came from Eisenkot's bloc, naming his Yashar party and Yair Golan's Democrats as the parties behind the repeal proposals.

On the same day, opposition figure Yair Lapid filed bills of his own. Ynet reported that Lapid is advancing a proposal to anchor the Declaration of Independence in a Basic Law and another to regulate civil partnerships, and noted that the bills were lodged before a new government had been established. Lapid himself listed three bills on X, adding a limit on prime ministerial tenure.

What the Eisenkot bloc filed

According to The Times of Israel, the repeal proposals target several laws passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that drew wide controversy. They include the law that reduced the authority of the attorney general, the law changing the Judicial Selection Committee, which chooses Israel's judges, and the media reform championed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.

Yashar also filed a bill to reverse the government's earlier amendment to the law setting out when a prime minister can be declared unfit to serve. The Times of Israel indicated this was likely aimed at a controversial 2023 measure, though its report did not spell the link out with certainty.

Ynet described the filings as coming from the Yashar faction and quoted the party's pledge to act to repair the state. The two reports differ slightly on attribution: Ynet credits Yashar alone, while The Times of Israel describes a joint effort by Yashar and the Democrats on the repeal bills.

Lapid's three bills, in his words

In a post on X, Lapid wrote that he had submitted three bills on the Knesset's first day. He said the first, a civil partnership bill, would give every couple in Israel equal rights regardless of sexual orientation and would create a new civil legal institution allowing couples to enter a partnership registry, giving them a family framework recognised by law.

Lapid wrote that the second would enshrine the Declaration of Independence as a Basic Law, which he described as the first chapter of a future Israeli constitution. The third, he said, would limit a prime minister's time in office to 8 years. He closed by saying his party would remain the voice of the liberal public in the Knesset.

Context for readers outside Israel

The Knesset is Israel's parliament. A new Knesset is sworn in after each general election, and the coalition talks that produce a government can continue after that ceremony, which is why bills can be filed before a cabinet exists.

Israel has no single written constitution. Instead, a series of Basic Laws carry constitutional weight, which is why supporters of placing the Declaration of Independence in a Basic Law present it as a constitutional step rather than a symbolic one.

Israel also has no civil marriage performed inside the country; marriage is handled by religious authorities. A civil partnership framework of the kind Lapid describes is a long-running demand of secular and LGBTQ Israelis and of couples who cannot or do not wish to marry religiously.

A state commission of inquiry is the most powerful type of official investigation in Israeli law, with independent members and broad powers to summon witnesses. Demands for such a commission into the failures surrounding October 7, 2023 have been a central issue in Israeli politics since the attack.

The judicial overhaul refers to the package of legal changes pursued by the Netanyahu government that triggered large protests. The laws the Eisenkot bloc wants repealed, covering the attorney general, judicial appointments and the media, are among the measures from that agenda that were enacted.

Both the Eisenkot bloc and Lapid filed bills to impose term limits on prime ministers, an idea that has repeatedly surfaced during Netanyahu's long tenure.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports gives a response from Netanyahu's camp or from parties negotiating to form the next government, and none indicates when, or whether, any of the bills will be brought to a vote. The Times of Israel did not state the length of the term limit the Eisenkot bloc proposes, and the reports do not say whether Lapid's bills have backing from other parties.