Watch: Chaos in Israeli parliament as Netanyahu's wife Sara, former PM Naftali Bennett trade barbs

A heated confrontation erupted in Israel's parliament during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, after former prime minister Naftali Bennett interrupted his address. Netanyahu's wife, Sara, later joined the exchange, shouting at Bennett from her seat.

Bennett raised questions about Qatar and the October 7 investigation, asking: "What about your Qatari advisers? Are they okay? What about the October 7 investigation?"

Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir interjected, hitting back at Bennett: "You shameless man! You sit with the Joint [Arab] List, and you want to speak?! You're a worthless nobody!"

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana attempted to restore order, saying: "Enough, this behaviour is disrespectful."

Bennett responded: "He's the one who doesn't respect anyone!"

Sara Netanyahu then confronted Bennett, shouting: "You sit with the Arab Joint List! You worthless man! Shame on you! You shameless man!"

Bennett, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and others continued talking and laughing among themselves during the address. Netanyahu waited for the altercation to die down before continuing his speech.

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Opposition introduces bills targeting Netanyahu

The confrontation took place as Israel's newly elected parliament convened for its first session on Tuesday. Opposition parties, which together hold a majority of seats, introduced several bills seeking greater scrutiny of Netanyahu's government and reversing some of its controversial decisions.

Yashar, the party led by Netanyahu's main challenger Gadi Eisenkot, proposed establishing a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. The proposal had previously been blocked when Netanyahu's coalition controlled the Knesset.

Eisenkot's party also introduced proposals to repeal the government's controversial judicial overhaul and introduce term limits for the prime minister.

The party described the proposed changes as a "regime overhaul", arguing that several Israeli institutions, including the judiciary and media regulators, have come under Netanyahu's influence.

Arab lawmakers walk out during Israeli national anthem

In a separate development, several Arab members of Israel's Knesset walked out of the session to avoid standing during the country's national anthem, "Hatikvah".

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with fellow Otzma Yehudit lawmakers Amichay Eliyahu and others, heckled opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc over the absence of Joint List and Ra'am members, shouting: "Where are your partners?"

Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas, however, remained present during the national anthem alongside the party's Jewish lawmaker Yoav Segalovitz. They appeared to be the only representatives of Arab-led parties in the parliament chamber at the time.