Herzog Tells New Knesset: Don't Send Israel Back to the Polls

Isaac Herzog used the opening session of Israel's 26th Knesset on Tuesday to deliver a direct warning to the lawmakers in the room. The Israeli president urged them to do everything possible to avoid repeating the election, telling them plainly that the people who elected them thirst for routine, security and peace.

He did not let the October 7 attack go unmentioned. Herzog said the events that led to what he called the disaster must be investigated thoroughly, with no stone left unturned.

Turning to the region, the president called for building a stable political horizon with Israel's neighbors, including its closest ones. He said the existing peace agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain should be strengthened and even added to.

Herzog also named what he described as moral stains in Israeli society. Among them, he listed violent crime in Arab communities and settler violence in the West Bank.