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Eisenkot gets first shot at Israel government

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally gave Gadi Eisenkot the first mandate to form a government. In the October 27 election, Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc won 53 Knesset seats, Eisenkot's alliance won 48, and Arab-led parties won a record 19 — leaving no bloc with the 61 seats needed for a majority. Herzog selected Eisenkot after 67 lawmakers endorsed him, compared with 46 for Netanyahu. Eisenkot now has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to build a governing coalition.

The election reflected deep political polarization and discontent after Netanyahu's long tenure and the multi-front war. Eisenkot, a former military chief, campaigned as a unifying figure who would repair Israel's democracy and international standing. Arab-led parties surged to a record high, partly over anger at Netanyahu's government. Eisenkot rules out a formal coalition with Arab-led parties but may need outside support from them or from ultra-Orthodox parties to reach a workable majority.

Byron Donalds won Florida's 2026 governor race and is set to become the state's first Black governor; on “Sunday Morning Futures” he said he wants Florida to set the standard for conservative governance.

Israeli President Herzog did task Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, but Eisenkot's own four-party alliance won only 48 Knesset seats, not a majority. He received endorsements from 67 lawmakers, which is why Herzog gave him the first chance.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the mission in Iran is “not yet complete” and that Israel is “more determined than ever” to take preemptive action, according to Al Jazeera's live reporting.

Bernie Sanders has warned Democrats against spending too much time investigating Trump, according to Politico.

Police said two separate shootings during homecoming weekend at a historically Black college in North Carolina left one person dead and three injured.

Gadi Eisenkot was officially given the first chance to form Israel's next

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Byron Donalds won Florida's 2026 governor race and is set to become the state's first Black governor; on “Sunday Morning Futures” he said he wants Florida to set the standard for conservative governance.

Florida Gov.-elect Byron Donalds tells @SundayFutures he wants Florida to set the standard for conservative governance across the country. Donalds, who is poised to become the state's first Black governor, points to Texas and other states, saying voters there could look to https:

Original post · Fox News (@FoxNews)

[foxnews.com](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-backed-byron-donalds-make-history-floridas-first-black-governor) NAMES: Byron Donalds = Republican congress

VERIFIED MISLEADING

Israeli President Herzog did task Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, but Eisenkot's own four-party alliance won only 48 Knesset seats, not a majority. He received endorsements from 67 lawmakers, which is why Herzog gave him the first chance.

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has been tasked by Israeli President Isaac Herzog with forming a new government after his coalition secured a majority. Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief, has warned that the country faces a dangerous moment. https://t.co/FdGzNlQwWM

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

[aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/7/israels-president-picks-eisenkot-over-netanyahu-to-form-next-government) NAMES: Gadi Eisenkot = former

VERIFIED TRUE

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the mission in Iran is “not yet complete” and that Israel is “more determined than ever” to take preemptive action, according to Al Jazeera's live reporting.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the mission in Iran is “not yet complete”, telling reporters that Israel is “more determined than ever” to take 'preemptive action.' 🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/EYwzdlmOsz https://t.co/jrOmQPMRWP

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

Al Jazeera NAMES: Israel Katz = Israeli Defence Minister.

VERIFIED TRUE

Police said two separate shootings during homecoming weekend at a historically Black college in North Carolina left one person dead and three injured.

Two separate shootings during homecoming weekend at a historically Black college in North Carolina have left one person dead and three injured, police said Sunday. https://t.co/RZWrVSC1tF

Original post · @CNN

CNN

VERIFIED TRUE

Gadi Eisenkot was officially given the first chance to form Israel's next government, and in a speech he said Israel is “in the midst of a destructive diplomatic crisis.” This is an opinion/argument about U.S. Middle East policy, not a checkable factual claim.

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has officially been given the first chance to form the next gov’t. In a speech, he said Israel is “in the midst of a destructive diplomatic crisis”. 🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/EYwzdlmOsz https://t.co/kwRhUTF0rg

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

[aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/7/israels-president-picks-eisenkot-over-netanyahu-to-form-next-government) NAMES: Gadi Eisenkot = former

Sources

What the hosts said

BIsrael’s president just gave Gadi Eisenkot the first shot at forming a government.
BAnd Al Jazeera English posted on X that his coalition secured a majority.
BThat part is wrong. Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 Knesset seats. That is not a majority.
BRight, but 67 lawmakers endorsed him. Netanyahu got 46 endorsements.
BEndorsements, Brian, not seats. Herzog had to pick someone with a path.
BAnd that path matters! Netanyahu’s bloc has more seats, Eisenkot has 48, and Arab-led parties won a record number. Nobody has 61.
BSo a minority government is likely. That is a fragile way to run a country at war.
BNot necessarily. Arab-led parties may support him from outside to remove Netanyahu.
BAnd Eisenkot says he won’t formally sit with them. How does that work?
BThey let him govern. He doesn’t give them ministries.
BAnd every time he wants to strike Iran, they pull the rug out.
BMaybe. But the alternative is Netanyahu again after years of war and division.
BI’m not defending Netanyahu. I’m saying this is a 48-seat government pretending it has a mandate.
BIt has more of a mandate than Netanyahu's bloc does, if 67 lawmakers asked for him.
BThat’s not a mandate! That’s a negotiation tactic.
BNo, no wait— Herzog didn’t have to choose Eisenkot. He chose the person with the broadest support.
BBroad enough to fail a confidence vote in 28 days.
BEisenkot himself called it “a destructive diplomatic crisis.” He knows exactly what he’s walking into.
BAnd the defense minister the same day says the Iran mission is “not yet complete.”
BThat’s why this isn’t just a political story. It’s a war story.
BIsrael Katz says Israel is “more determined than ever” to take preemptive action.
BYou think Eisenkot can hold that together?
BI think no one can. Not with 48 seats.
BSo you’d rather have Netanyahu with more seats and Arab parties locked out?
BI didn’t say that. I said this is unstable.
BThen say it plainly: instability might be better than more Netanyahu.
BThat’s a low bar, Brian.
BIt’s the bar Israel has right now.
BAnd the security alerts tell you the region isn’t waiting.
BMario Nawfal posted on X that the U.S. issued security alerts across a number of Middle East diplomatic missions.
BThe claim includes Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, and reports of Iranian plots targeting senior U.S. officials.
BWe couldn’t confirm the specific alerts. But after the strikes, that level of caution is plausible.
BPlausible isn’t confirmed. We should be careful.
BUnderstood. The post says renewed Houthi attacks too. That fits what we’re hearing.
BIf true, it’s a big deal. Eleven missions is a coordinated threat picture.
BIt’s a claim for now. Embassies do this quietly all the time.
BFair enough, and we’ll flag it if an official source ever confirms it.
BMeanwhile, the argument under all this hasn’t changed.
BInsurrection Barbie posted on X that America’s Middle East presence isn’t because of Israel—it predates the modern state of Israel.
BShe’s right. U.S. strategic interest in the region goes back to Roosevelt and oil.
BBut the top reply says America had no enemies before Israel was “stolen.” That’s historically wrong.
BMore than wrong. It ignores 1940s oil, Cold War bases, all of it.
BYet there’s a real point buried in the noise: support for Israel has shaped policy.
BOf course it has. But the idea that Israel invented America’s enemies is just false.
BThe U.S. fought the Barbary Wars in the early 1800s, long before Israel's founding in 1948.
BExactly. Franklin Roosevelt was meeting Ibn Saud about oil in 1945.
BSo we can have the policy debate without the revisionism.
BI’d say that’s the only way to have it.

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