Members of parliament elected in September 17 polls will take their oaths of office at 4 pm at Israel's Knesset without a new government as a deadlocked general election leaves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambling to find a path to extend his long tenure in power.
The new parliament's term will be extremely short since it could cause yet another election.
Prime Minister Netanyahu faces even longer odds this time, and as a result, has been seeking to form a unity government that would include his main opponent Benny Gantz and his centrist Blue and White alliance.
It would be the third elections since April, after the polls ended inconclusively, with Netanyahu unable to form a coalition.
His unity government efforts have failed with the two sides at odds on a range of issues, including who would be prime minister first in a rotation arrangement. On Thursday morning, Netanyahu met with ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party could end up as kingmakers.
The events on the day of swearing-in include a march along a red carpet, a festive reception on the balcony of the Chagall Lounge and a reception hosted by President Reuven Rivlin. And since the makeup of the new government is yet unknown, Yuli Edelstein will serve as acting speaker.
Lieberman has declined to endorse either Netanyahu or Gantz and called for a unity government between the three parties. In the meantime, Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges, have lawyers seeking to fend off the charges against him at a four-day, closed-door hearing that began at the attorney general's office on Wednesday.
Arab Israeli MPs will not attend the swearing-in as they will take part in a general strike over violence in Arab communities and what they call the lack of a police response.
The mainly Arab Joint List won 13 seats in the election, making it the third-largest bloc in parliament.
