New Knesset Sworn In Amid Political Tensions and Calls for Unity

Good Morning, Israel · Wednesday, November 11, 2026 · 8:01

Good Morning, Israel · Episode 45

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1. New Knesset Sworn In Amid Political Tensions and Calls for Unity
2. Israel Declares Dubai Flight Attack Hostile Act, Enabling Passenger Compensation
3. Eisenkot Cancels Likud Talks After Netanyahu's Knesset Speech
4. Israeli Civilian Detained by UNIFIL After Illegally Crossing Into Lebanon
5. Ayelet Hasson Resigns From Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation Amid Controversy
6. Revolut Secures Israeli Banking License Amid European Regulatory Hurdles

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Maya

Israel's new parliament took its oath yesterday, and by the evening its coalition talks were already in pieces.

Daniel

Gadi Eisenkot walked away from talks with Likud straight after Benjamin Netanyahu's speech.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Wednesday, November eleventh. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

We told you yesterday the twenty-sixth Knesset was about to be sworn in. It happened. Give me the room first.

Daniel

One hundred and twenty members took the oath. Forty-six of them are newcomers, so more than a third of Israel's parliament is brand new.

Maya

That's a lot of people learning where the cafeteria is in the middle of a crisis.

Daniel

Right. And President Isaac Herzog gave them a clear message. He urged lawmakers to prevent new elections.

Maya

Which is a real possibility, given the clock we've been tracking.

Daniel

Exactly. Eisenkot, the former I D F Chief of Staff, holds the mandate to form a government. If he fails, and Netanyahu fails after him, Israel goes back to the polls.

Maya

So then Netanyahu gets up to speak.

Daniel

Interim Prime Minister Netanyahu, still running a caretaker government. He called for a national unity government to deal with security threats and to preserve Israel's Jewish identity.

Maya

Unity, with conditions.

Daniel

Big ones. He warned against bringing into any government Arab parties that, in his words, seek to destroy Israel. He cited statements by Members of Knesset from Raam and the Joint List, and accused them of aiming for a Palestinian state on Israel's ruins.

Maya

Raam being the United Arab List, the party Eisenkot's camp has been counting on for outside support.

Daniel

Right. So that speech hits his rival's entire strategy. Netanyahu also demanded an investigation into foreign interference in the election.

Maya

Which we've been following. The Attorney General said earlier this week there's no evidence it changed the results.

Daniel

That's her finding, yes. Netanyahu still wants it investigated.

Maya

And the ceremony itself wasn't exactly calm.

Daniel

No. There were open political clashes in the chamber, including an outburst by Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the hard-right Otzma Yehudit party.

Maya

Okay, so now Eisenkot.

Daniel

After the speech, he canceled coalition talks with Likud, Netanyahu's party. He called Netanyahu's remarks shameful.

Maya

Wait, he canceled talks, and in the same breath he called for unity?

Daniel

He did. He urged the immediate formation of a unity government. So both men are using the same word, and walking in opposite directions.

Maya

Two people agreeing on the destination, and refusing to share a car.

Daniel

That's about it. Likud, for its part, questioned why Eisenkot's party pulled out at all.

Maya

And there's a twist on Raam.

Daniel

There is. Reports emerged of earlier negotiations between Netanyahu's associates and Raam's leader, Mansour Abbas.

Maya

The same party Netanyahu warned against from the podium.

Daniel

According to those reports, yes. And that's going to come up again and again as these talks go on.

Maya

Why does any of this matter beyond the theater?

Daniel

Because Eisenkot's minority plan depends on Raam, and his partner Avigdor Lieberman already rejects that. If talks with Likud are off too, his options are narrowing fast, and every day counts against his twenty-eight.

Maya

Now to a story far from Israel, but very much about Israelis and Jews. The U S Justice Department has charged three Iran-backed operatives.

Daniel

The charges cover terror attacks against Jewish communities in the U S and in Europe, and a planned attack on R A F Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in Britain.

Maya

Who are they?

Daniel

The indictment names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani. Al-Saadi is in custody.

Maya

And the scale?

Daniel

According to the indictment, nearly twenty attacks and attempted attacks. The alleged plots include a stabbing in London, a firebombing of a synagogue, and an attempted bombing of a synagogue in New York.

Maya

On whose behalf?

Daniel

In support of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iraqi terrorist organization, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Maya

So Iran's reach isn't just missiles aimed at Israel. It's synagogues in New York and London.

Daniel

Exactly. It's the pattern Israel has been warning about for years. The regime and its proxies treat Jewish communities anywhere as targets.

Maya

To Israel's northern border. An Israeli civilian crossed into Lebanon on Tuesday.

Daniel

Near Rosh HaNikra, the white chalk cliffs at the very northwestern tip of Israel, on the Mediterranean.

Maya

How do you just cross?

Daniel

The person climbed over the gate of a U N post and crossed the Blue Line, the U N marked boundary between Israel and Lebanon. They were detained by UNIFIL, the U N peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Maya

And brought back?

Daniel

Returned to Israel and being questioned by police. The I D F is investigating, and initial indications suggest the person was mentally unstable.

Maya

Separately, UNIFIL says one of its own patrols came under fire.

Daniel

In southern Lebanon. The peacekeepers returned fire, and UNIFIL has asked Lebanon to investigate the shooting.

Maya

A reminder of what that area still looks like.

Daniel

Right. Even U N forces are getting shot at there.

Maya

Quick round. Back to the Flydubai flight. We told you yesterday Israel recognized the passengers as victims of hostile acts. There are new details.

Daniel

The Defense Ministry's classification covers a September thirtieth attack by the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami. He attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, and the plane lost altitude before passengers intervened.

Maya

And then?

Daniel

An emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, and the passengers were later flown to Tel Aviv. The case has also exposed security gaps in how foreign flight crews are vetted.

Maya

Which is the question that lingers after the compensation forms are filed.

Daniel

Exactly.

Maya

Some banking news. Revolut, the digital bank, is coming to Israel.

Daniel

The Bank of Israel has given it a conditional banking license to set up Revolut Bank Israel. It's only the third new bank licensed in the country in forty years.

Maya

Forty years. Israeli banking isn't known for crowded shelves.

Daniel

No, and that's why Bank of Israel officials welcomed it as a boost to competition. The license still depends on Revolut meeting the remaining requirements.

Maya

Meanwhile in Europe it's had a rougher month.

Daniel

Restrictions from the European Central Bank, a significant fine in Italy, and a recent data breach.

Maya

A resignation at Kan, Israel's public broadcaster.

Daniel

Broadcaster Ayelet Hasson has quit, citing censorship and what she described as a desire to appease a specific political camp. She said she wouldn't be part of a system that silences voices.

Maya

Where does she go?

Daniel

She plans to stay on screen and says she's had several offers. One came publicly from Yotam Zimri, inviting her to Channel 14.

Maya

And finally, a goodbye on four wheels. Mazda is retiring the Mazda 2.

Daniel

After nearly thirty years. The CX-3 crossover takes over as Mazda's entry-level model in twenty twenty-seven, built in Thailand, with a mild-hybrid system.

Maya

Israelis already said their farewells.

Daniel

Sales in Israel ended in April twenty twenty-five, after more than seventy thousand cars sold since two thousand eight.

Maya

Seventy thousand small cars, in a country of small parking spots. It made sense.

Daniel

It really did.

Maya

The thing to watch today is whether Eisenkot and Likud find their way back to the table, or whether Eisenkot leans harder on the minority plan built around Raam.

Daniel

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.