The 20th Knesset holds first session with 39 new members
Israel’s newly-elected Knesset held its first session in Jerusalem Tuesday with President Reuven Rivlin taking the chair for the ceremony. Of the 120 members sworn in, 39 were elected for the first time last month and 29 were women. When the house stood for the national anthem – Hatikva – members of the Arab Joint List left the chamber. The outgoing Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein of Likud expects to be re-elected in the first vote held by the new House. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said his government is open to all the elected parties without exception. He also warned again that the nuclear accord in Lausanne paves the way to a nuclear-armed Iran.