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Israel's 26th Knesset convened for its inaugural session and swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

Addressing the parliament's inaugural session, President Isaac Herzog called on the 26th Knesset to prioritize national unity, compromise, and stability, urging lawmakers to do everything possible to avoid another election.

US President Trump meets with Qatari PM Al Thani in Washington. (photo: Qatari Embassy in Washington, DC)

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told G7 foreign ministers in Paris that Doha had secured “at least two weeks” to pursue diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching an understanding between Washington and Tehran before a potential US attack on Iran, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post.

Al Thani met with G7 foreign ministers and his Saudi counterpart after holding talks with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Tuesday.

Qatar has emerged as the leading mediator in efforts to broker an agreement between Washington and Tehran and prevent a renewed war.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters in a brief phone interview on Monday that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are eager for a peaceful solution to the Iran conflict, but the US is ready to resume military strikes if necessary.

Trump, who met Qatar's prime minister earlier on Monday, said "Qatar would rather see a peaceful solution" and "Saudi Arabia would rather see a peaceful solution," but "we're ready to go anytime we want" with strikes.

Trump, though, signaled he was in no rush to resume strikes, saying he was content with the US naval blockade against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

(photos: Flash90 & Israel Hayom)

Yashar! Chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman met Monday for talks described as productive and positive. Both expressed full confidence in their ability to form a stable government that would serve a full four-year term.

After President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Saturday, the 28-day period allotted to him began Sunday. His mandate is set to expire on Dec. 6. If Eisenkot fails to form a government by then, the president may grant him an extension of up to 14 days.

The coming weeks are therefore expected to see intensive political negotiations that will determine whether Eisenkot can assemble a government or whether other political options will have to be explored.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said it was “highly unlikely” that he would order a new offensive against Iran if there is progress in negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” Trump told CNN when asked about a potential renewed offensive.

“The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary. They’re a failing nation… I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard… They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off,” he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that negotiations with Iranhave made little progress, stressing that Washington is not close to reaching a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for France to attend a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, Rubiosaid, "I have no progress to report. There are several countries that continue to engage with Iran and put forward various ideas, but I would not say that we are on the verge of a breakthrough."

Rubio said President Donald Trump continues to favor a diplomatic solution, but acknowledged that Iranian demands remain a major obstacle to reaching an agreement.

President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday night that he would task Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel’s next government, giving the former military chief the first chance to assemble a coalition after the October 27 election left neither him nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a clear path to power.

Herzog invited Eisenkot to the President’s Residence on Sunday at 5 p.m. to formally hand him the mandate. Eisenkot will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of up to 14 days.

Parties representing 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members recommended Eisenkot, while 46 backed Netanyahu. United Torah Judaism, a longtime Netanyahu ally with seven seats, recommended neither candidate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly called for a unity government on Saturday for the first time since the elections, saying that “this is the time for unity. This is the will of the people; this is the need of the hour. A government that relies on supporters of terror will not fight terror.”

Netanyahu also said that Israel “would not survive” a government formed by the opposition along with “the Islamists,” adding that such a government would “destroy Israel from within.”

He said that opposition leaders were preparing to establish a government with the support of Arab parties, which he accused of supporting Hamas and seeking to undermine Israel’s existence.

Former IDF Chief of Staff and Yashar Chairman Gadi Eisenkot is set to receive the mandate to form Israel's next government from President Isaac Herzog after securing the backing of parties representing 67 Knesset seats at the conclusion of the second round of consultations on Thursday, compared with just 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Herzog is expected to formally assign Eisenkot the task of forming a government this coming Sunday. "I will leave no stone unturned in working to establish a stable government," the president said.

Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair are holding a series of meetings in Israel to advance Trump's Gaza plan. Discussions focus on establishing a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, Hamas' refusal to disarm and transferring UNRWA's responsibilities to other organizations. The meeting with the Yashar! party leader is intended as an introduction, given the possibility that he could become prime minister.

Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia cannot happen while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power, a source familiar with the Saudi diplomatic agenda told Israel's KAN News on Thursday.

"Saudi Arabia wants peace, negotiations, and for the Israeli-Palestinian issue to be closed via a two-state solution," the source said. "But Netanyahu is not there."

"As long as Netanyahu is in power with the current government, normalization is not on the agenda," the source concluded.

Saudi Arabia has said the same about normalization and Netanyahu before. In October 2025, a Saudi royal-family source told Israel's Channel 12 that the country is willing to normalize relations with Israel when Jerusalem has a different government that will recognize a two-state solution, saying that this could happen once Israel elects a new government.

The fight for the 2028 Republican primary is beginning to take shape on the heels of the GOP’s devastating midterm losses, with Vice President Vance facing criticism for blaming the losses on the Iran war and other big-name Republicans appearing to stake out their own positions.

The losses have created a huge opening for GOP White House hopefuls, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), to go against Vance.

Vance has long been seen as the front-runner to succeed President Trump as the GOP standard-bearer. A close second has been Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Representatives of Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party arrived at the President's Residence on Thursday as consultations over who should be tasked with forming Israel's next government continued.

The party backed Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, as Bennett and opposition leaders Yair Golan (Democrats) and Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) confirmed earlier this week.

The consultations are part of the process through which Herzog will determine which Knesset member has the best chance of assembling a governing coalition and securing the support of at least 61 lawmakers.

Gadi Eisenkot, also spelled Eizenkot, is an Israeli general, politician, and leader of the Yashar party. He served from 2015 to 2019 as the 21st chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and from 2023 to 2024 as a minister without portfolio in Israel's unity government. He led Yashar in the 2026 Israeli legislative election as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Vice President JD Vance’s decision to invoke America’s relationship with Israel in explaining the Republican Party’s devastating midterm election losses raises deeply troubling questions about political accountability, historical responsibility, and the moral obligations of Christian leadership.

Vance’s November 4 statement identified the war with Iran as the principal reason for Republican electoral defeats and included changing America’s relationship with Israel among the priorities he attributed to disaffected voters.

Vance’s previous statements concerning Israel, along with criticism surrounding his continued association with Tucker Carlson following Carlson’s interview with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, have already raised concerns among Jewish and Christian supporters of Israel.

Although Vance has publicly condemned antisemitism, those concerns deserve substantive answers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is gearing up for a potential run for president, prompting officials to brace for his resignation, The Independent reported Thursday.

Insiders say the secretary of state is preparing for the Republican nomination race in November 2028, with Vice President J. D. Vance as his chief would-be opponent.

[WWD Note: Time will tell if this ends up being true or not, as there are a number anonymous 'sources' cited in the article.]

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital "I am all in" for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and called on fellow Republicans to begin thinking about how to rebuild in the wake of their election losses.

The president’s failure to deliver on key promises — most prominently, his vows to tame inflation, which has worsened instead — clearly weighed on his fellow Republicans in Tuesday’s midterm elections for the House and the Senate.

But the poll also contains a serious note of caution for Democrats. Many voters dislike the party — and while Democrats hold an advantage on key issues such as the economy, their edge is relatively slim.

It was impossible for GOP candidates to hide from inflation. Voters could see it clearly in their receipts from grocery stores and gasoline stations.

Speaking to i24NEWS, Danon said a vocal minority of anti-Israel politicians was increasingly dominating the debate despite bipartisan support for the US-Israel alliance. "So it will be harder for us," he acknowledged, adding that Israel would continue working with allies across the political spectrum.

Danon also criticized newly elected Michigan lawmaker Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned against US military funding for Israel. He argued that El-Sayed would oppose Israel regardless of its policies, including the current Gaza ceasefire. Danon maintained that Democrats should lead from the political center rather than the extremes.

Addressing President Donald Trump's announcement that annual US military aid to Israel would end, Danon suggested future defense cooperation could increasingly involve joint investments. Highlighting systems such as Iron Dome, he argued that Israeli-American military technology benefits both countries. "We will put our money. The US would invest their money," he said.

Outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the Republican losses in the midterm elections are "close to an extinction-level event" for the party "in many parts of the country, as we have seen probably in the last 100 years."

DeSantis spoke after Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate on Election Day. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida House Republican, won the contest for DeSantis' seat despite other GOP candidates losing their gubernatorial races around the U.S.

"Here's the thing. Democrats are unpopular. They were able to win based off the sentiment that exists in the country right now. They did not earn a mandate to indulge all their left-wing fantasies. And they're going to be in there governing, and we'll see what ends up happening," DeSantis said.

(photo: Getty Images)

Rep. Byron Donalds just made history as the first Black politician to win a gubernatorial election in Florida as Fox News Decision Desk projected the congressman winning Tuesday's election. 

He is also the first Black Republican in the nation's history elected governor.

Donalds, a three-term congressman from southwest Florida, defeated Democratic rival former Rep. David Jolly in a close race to win the Sunshine State's gubernatorial election, the Fox News Decision Desk projects.

The leaders of the four Jewish opposition parties held a meeting in Herzliya on Tuesday during which they agreed to immediately launch coalition negotiations and coordinate their parliamentary strategy ahead of the new Knesset’s swearing-in next week.

They did not, however, give an indication of how they intend to form a government without the Arab parties, which most of the Jewish opposition parties have ruled out as coalition partners.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost its parliamentary majority in last week’s election, the Jewish opposition parties hold just 48 seats to his 53. They can command a majority only with the support of the two Arab parties, which won a combined 19 seats, leaving the route to forming a new government uncertain.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. aid to Israel would end at the close of the year, arguing that the country no longer needs the assistance and can purchase its own weapons.

"We were giving them $4 billion – we are – but it gets cut off at the end of the year," Trump told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday in an Election Day morning announcement.

Trump acknowledged the political nature of the news, pointing to Michigan's battleground Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.

He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed ending the assistance for years, adding that Netanyahu raised the idea.