Herzog opens 26th Knesset, urges lawmakers to avoid repeat elections

President Isaac Herzog told the incoming members of Israel's 26th Knesset on November 10, 2026 that they should do everything in their power to prevent the country from returning to the polls, Ynet reported in a news alert from the swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem. According to Ynet, he also appealed to lawmakers to reach out toward unity, saying the public was hoping to see cooperation across the chamber.

Herzog used the address to the opening session to press for a complete investigation of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, closer ties with the United States and a shared national burden of military service, The Times of Israel reported. The country, he said, must "leave no stone unturned" in understanding how the disaster happened and in drawing conclusions from it.

What the president said

Several outlets carried short Hebrew excerpts of the speech. Political commentator Amit Segal posted on Telegram that Herzog said this Knesset should serve out its full term, alongside the call to avoid another election. The news site News.co.il published a longer excerpt in which Herzog told the members that 80% had voted for them and were longing to see a hand extended and unity among the people. The reports do not explain how that figure was calculated.

In the same excerpt, Herzog said Israel needed to build a diplomatic horizon, reinforce its existing peace agreements and add new ones, and strengthen relations with the United States and with its allies. He told lawmakers the Knesset had to find an appropriate solution to the question of conscription, and that the challenges facing the country require the burden of service to be carried jointly.

According to The Times of Israel, Herzog said the new parliament must deal with the situation of those who serve, both in the standing army and in the reserves.

The ceremony and its participants

The Knesset is Israel's single-chamber parliament, which sits in Jerusalem. The Israeli president's role is largely ceremonial, and opening the first session of a newly elected Knesset is one of the formal duties of the office. Members take their oath of office at this sitting, after which the work of forming a governing coalition continues.

In his introduction, Herzog named the longest-serving and youngest members of the chamber, The Times of Israel reported. The most senior is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent 35 cumulative years as a lawmaker since he first entered parliament in 1988. The youngest is Yonatan Shalev of the B'Yachad party, aged 24.

The dispute over an October 7 inquiry

Herzog's call for a full investigation touches on one of the most contested political questions in Israel since the Hamas attack. In Israel, the strongest form of official investigation is a state commission of inquiry, an independent body whose members are chosen through the Supreme Court rather than by the government.

The Times of Israel noted that Netanyahu has declined to set up such a commission into October 7, arguing that judges selected that way would not treat his government fairly. Over the past year, according to the same report, the government has said it would back an inquiry chosen by a panel of lawmakers, with politicians defining its mandate and scope. Herzog's remarks, as reported, did not specify which model of investigation he favoured.

Repeat elections and the draft question

Herzog's appeal to avoid another vote reflects a period in which Israeli governments have repeatedly collapsed before completing their terms, sending voters back to the ballot box. His comment that the Knesset should last its full term was framed as a direct request to the parties now negotiating over a coalition.

The conscription issue he raised refers to the long-running dispute over military service, centred on exemptions for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men studying in religious seminaries. Most Jewish Israelis are drafted at the end of high school and many continue to serve in the reserves for years afterward, and the question of who shares that burden has divided coalitions in the past. Herzog's phrase about joint responsibility for service echoes that debate, though the excerpts do not show him endorsing any particular legislative approach.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports describe how party leaders, including Netanyahu, responded to Herzog's speech, or whether any lawmaker addressed his call for an October 7 investigation during the session. The reports also do not clarify what the 80% figure in the president's remarks refers to.