Benjamin Netanyahu’s Biggest Rivals Merge in bid to oust his Government
By Sky News
Right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid issued statements announcing the merger of their parties.
Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest rivals have announced they are joining forces to attempt to oust his coalition government.
The ex-prime ministers, right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid, issued statements on Sunday announcing the merger of their parties, Bennett 2026 and There is a Future.
Lapid, standing alongside Bennett at a joint news conference, said: “We are standing here together for the sake of our children. The State of Israel must change direction.”
Bennett said the new party would be called Together, and that he will be its leader.
He said: “After 30 years it is time to part with Netanyahu and open a new chapter for Israel.”
Their bid will commence in the upcoming election expected later this year, they added.
The duo have joined forces before, when they put an end to Netanyahu’s successive 12-year tenure in a 2021 election.
Benjamin Netanyahu. Pic: Reuters
But they formed a coalition with a thin majority that survived just 18 months.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, made a comeback when he won the November 2022 election.
A year later, the Middle East was plunged into turmoil following Hamas’s 2023 attack on southern Israel.
Israel retaliated immediately and carried out airstrikes on Gaza.
The IDF said the actions seen in the video did not align with their values.
In mid-December, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll in the territory had passed 45,000.
Since then, polls have predicted he will lose the next election due by the end of October.
Bennett, 54, an ex-army commando turned tech millionaire, has been trailing Netanyahu in election polls.
A survey on 23 April by Israel’s N12 News found Bennett securing 21 of the 120 seats, against 25 for Netanyahu’s Likud.
It found Lapid’s party securing only seven seats, down from the 24 it currently holds.
