Israel’s 21st Knesset holds first sitting with swearing-in of 120 members

Forty-nine of the 120 Knesset sworn in on Tuesday are first-timers. The plenary session, attended by new and outgoing lawmakers, was ceremonially declared open by President Reuven Rivlin. Their first order of business was to re-elect Likud’s Yuli Edelstein for his third term as Knesset Speaker. On Thursday, the Knesset will mark Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day with the traditional “reading of the names” ceremony. The Israeli parliament holds its first regular session on May 9 when Israel celebrates the 71th anniversary of its independence. Outgoing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party won 35 seats in the recent general election, is meanwhile in the midst of negotiations to form a coalition government.