Eisenkot Moves to Reverse Netanyahu Policies as Knesset Is Sworn In

Legislative transitions and diplomatic negotiations are unfolding across domestic and international capitals as Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot begins a six-week mandate to form a coalition government in the newly sworn-in Knesset, Washington and Moscow prepare for trilateral Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi following the U.S. midterm elections, and lawmakers in Helena, Montana, elect new House caucus leaders.

According to KCBS Radio, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot pledged on Tuesday to reverse many of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies as the new Israeli parliament was sworn in. Holding a majority in the Knesset and given up to six weeks to build a coalition before President Isaac Herzog would pass the mandate, Eisenkot's bloc introduced bills to establish an official inquiry into the October 7, 2023 security failures, set term limits on the prime minister, and overturn judicial restrictions enacted under Netanyahu. A majority of lawmakers also submitted signatures to replace Netanyahu-backed Knesset speaker Amir Ohana with Matan Kahana, a senior member of Eisenkot's Yashar party. After Netanyahu delivered a Tuesday speech criticizing potential coalition partnerships with Arab politicians—who represent a minority comprising 20% of Israel's population—Eisenkot canceled a Wednesday meeting with Netanyahu's Likud party.

Abu Dhabi Trilateral Talks and Congressional Ukraine Aid Outlook

In international diplomacy, KCBS Radio reported that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed hope that Democratic victories in the U.S. midterms would not alter President Donald Trump's negotiation track ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday trilateral talks involving Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. representatives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Peskov also noted first lady Melania Trump's role in a recent limited ceasefire around Oleshky that permitted humanitarian aid delivery and resident evacuations, following a Thursday White House ceremony attended by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

While Trump recently paused certain sanctions by executive order and signed a Russian diesel import arrangement—from which two U.S.-bound tankers recently changed course after legal warnings—and Ukraine noted a brief throttling of SpaceX's Starshield service, the administration approved a $2.1 billion sale of Patriot interceptors on October 30 after requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told German broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday that the new Congress could speed assistance. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev (2008–12) and political analyst Abbas Gallyamov suggested the incoming Congress could narrow Moscow's leverage, whereas Atlantic Council Europe Center senior director Jorn Fleck, Russian upper house deputy speaker Konstantin Kosachev, and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna noted that the U.S. president retains broad constitutional authority over foreign policy.

Montana House Caucuses Elect New Leadership Teams

In state legislative news, KCBS Radio reported that Democrats in the Montana House of Representatives elected State Rep. SJ Howell of Missoula as House minority leader—making Howell the first transgender/nonbinary party leader in a U.S. legislature—and elected State Rep. Zooey Zephyr of Missoula as one of three minority whips. Howell, a former women's and LGBTQ+ policy advocate, was first elected in 2022 as Montana's first nonbinary legislator, the same year Zephyr, a university program manager who was barred from the House floor during a 2023 floor dispute, became Montana's first openly transgender lawmaker. In the Republican caucus, which holds the legislative majority and all six statewide offices, lawmakers elected Katie Zolnikov of Billings as House speaker, Mike Vinton of Billings as speaker pro tem, and Tom Millett of Marion as majority leader.