Eisenkot's Yashar party set to take Knesset speaker post from Ohana

Avigdor Liberman and Gadi Eisenkot have reached an agreement on who will serve as the next speaker of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, with the post going to a representative of Eisenkot's Yashar party in place of the current speaker, Amir Ohana. Ynet reported that the understanding was reached at a meeting between the two men, and that Naftali Bennett and Yair Golan had left the decision in their hands.

According to Ynet, unless something changes at the last minute, the person chosen is likely to be Eisenkot himself. Later on Monday evening, N12 political correspondent Dafna Liel reported on N12 that the heads of the parties had settled the matter and that the speaker would be a Yashar representative, either Eisenkot or someone acting on his behalf. News.co.il gave the same formula and added that Bennett had endorsed the move after a three-way consultation that included Liberman.

How the story developed

The first reports said only that a deal existed, without a name attached. Political commentator Amit Segal wrote on his Telegram channel that agreement on the speaker had been reached at the Liberman and Eisenkot meeting, but that the two had not yet disclosed who it would be. Segal suggested they were probably waiting to coordinate with the other parties in their bloc before moving forward. Dafna Liel's initial N12 update likewise said that the identity had not been revealed. Ynet's alert service then carried a brief notice that the two men had agreed on the next speaker, before the fuller reports attributed the post to Yashar.

Who the people involved are

Gadi Eisenkot is a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who entered politics after leaving the military. He leads Yashar, the party named in the reports as the one that will hold the speakership.

Avigdor Liberman heads Yisrael Beytenu, a right-wing secular party whose base has traditionally included immigrants from the former Soviet Union. He has long been one of the central figures in coalition bargaining.

Naftali Bennett is a former prime minister. Yair Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, leads The Democrats, the party formed from the merger of Labor and Meretz on the Israeli left. The reports describe both as party leaders who were part of the decision: according to Ynet they deferred to Liberman and Eisenkot, and according to News.co.il Bennett gave his approval.

Amir Ohana, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, is the outgoing speaker whom the new appointee would replace.

What the Knesset speaker does

The speaker presides over the Knesset's plenary sessions and runs its daily business: setting the agenda together with the Knesset presidium, ruling on procedure, and deciding when bills and motions come to the floor. The office also carries ceremonial weight and ranks high in the state's order of protocol. The speaker is elected by a vote of the members of the Knesset, so an agreement among party leaders is a political understanding about who the bloc will back rather than an appointment in its own right.

Because the speaker controls the timing of votes and debates, the post is closely watched whenever control of parliament changes hands. Assigning it is often one of the earliest items settled between parties working together, and it is frequently used to balance the interests of partners who will divide other senior positions between them.

Why the reports frame it as a bloc decision

Several of the reports describe the speakership as something the leaders of a group of parties had to agree on together. Segal's note about coordination with the rest of the bloc, Ynet's account of Bennett and Golan handing the decision to Liberman and Eisenkot, and News.co.il's description of a consultation among Bennett, Liberman and Eisenkot all point to the same picture: the choice was negotiated between the heads of allied parties, with Liberman and Eisenkot acting as the principal negotiators on this post.

Where the accounts differ

The reports agree that Liberman and Eisenkot reached an agreement and that the post is going to Yashar. They differ in how firmly they name the person. Ynet said it would likely be Eisenkot himself, with the caveat of a possible last-minute change. N12 and News.co.il described it as Eisenkot or someone on his behalf, leaving open whether another Yashar figure will take the role. The earliest updates from Segal and N12 named no one at all.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports says whether Eisenkot personally will take the post or name another member of Yashar, and no official statement from Yashar, Yisrael Beytenu or the other parties has been reported. There is also no reported response from Ohana or from Likud, and the reports do not say when a Knesset vote on the speakership will take place.