Bennett and Lapid Merge Parties to Oust Benjamin Netanyahu in 2026 Election

Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced on Sunday that they will merge their parties and run together in the 2026 election in a bid to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest political rivals say they are joining forces in a bid to oust his coalition government in the upcoming election expected later this year”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said Bennett 2026 and There is a Future would merge, with Bennett’s office saying the new party will be called Together and that he will be its leader.

Al Jazeera

The Globe and Mail reported that Lapid’s Yesh Atid party said, “The move is intended to unite the bloc, put an end to internal divisions and focus all efforts on winning the critical upcoming elections,” and it described a joint news conference later on Sunday.

Sky News likewise said the ex-prime ministers issued statements announcing the merger of their parties, Bennett 2026 and There is a Future, and that Lapid stood alongside Bennett at a joint news conference.

CNBC quoted Lapid saying, “We are standing here together for the sake of our children. The State of Israel must change direction,” as Bennett said the new party will be called Together.

Multiple outlets tied the election timing to a deadline of October, with The National saying the election is due by October and Sky News saying the upcoming election is expected later this year.

The political framing across outlets emphasized replacing Netanyahu’s coalition government, with Gulf Times describing the bid as an effort “to oust his coalition government in the upcoming election expected later this year.”

While the election announcements were framed as domestic political strategy, the sources repeatedly linked Bennett and Lapid’s criticism of Netanyahu to the aftermath of Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel and the subsequent fighting in Gaza and beyond.

Al Jazeera said Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel “left Netanyahu’s security credentials in tatters,” and it described Israel responding with “a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza” and attacking several neighbours in recent years.

Al-Jazeera Net

Sky News similarly said that a year later “the Middle East was plunged into turmoil following Hamas's 2023 attack on southern Israel,” and it added that Israel retaliated immediately and carried out airstrikes on Gaza.

CNBC described the same sequence as “Hamas' 2023 attack on southern Israel, which plunged the Middle East into turmoil and saw Israel fighting on multiple fronts,” and it said polls since then have predicted Netanyahu will lose the next election due by the end of October.

The National said both Bennett and Lapid criticized Netanyahu’s handling of “the regional conflicts raging since 2023,” and it connected the fallout to Netanyahu’s standing.

Gulf Times also tied the political shift to Hamas’s 2023 attack, saying it “left Netanyahu's security credentials in tatters and polls since then have successively predicted that he will lose the next election, due by the end of October.”

In the same context, Al Jazeera reported that Bennett said if elected he would establish “a national commission of inquiry into what he calls failures leading up to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack,” which the current Netanyahu government has rejected.

Beyond Gaza’s battlefield, the sources describe Bennett and Lapid aligning on regional security priorities, including support for strikes on Iran and opposition to Palestinian statehood.

The National said “Both leaders back strikes on Iran and oppose Palestinian statehood,” while also criticizing Netanyahu’s handling of “recent regional conflicts and military strategy.”

Al Jazeera reported that Lapid and Bennett have been “outspoken critics of Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s wars since that attack,” with Lapid labeling the two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran a “political disaster.”

Gulf Times likewise said both men “have also criticised Netanyahu for failing to translate military gains into strategic wins over Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon and Gaza - Hezbollah and Hamas.”

The National added that Bennett and Lapid made the issue central to their campaign, including criticism of Netanyahu for failing to translate “military gains into broader strategic successes against Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon and Gaza, including Hezbollah and Hamas.”

CNBC echoed the same linkage, saying they criticized Netanyahu for failing to leverage military gains into strategic wins over Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon and Gaza — Hezbollah and Hamas.

Sky News described the political message as a call to change direction, with Lapid saying, “The State of Israel must change direction,” and Bennett saying, “After 30 years it is time to part with Netanyahu ‌and open a new chapter for Israel.”

The sources present multiple voices and concrete polling figures to show how the Bennett-Lapid bloc is positioned against Netanyahu’s Likud.

Al Jazeera said an April 23 survey by Israel’s N12 News found Bennett securing 21 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, against 25 seats for Netanyahu’s Likud, and it said Lapid’s party was securing only seven seats, down from the 24 it currently holds.

All Israel News

Sky News and CNBC both cited the same April 23 N12 News survey, with Sky News stating Bennett securing 21 of the 120 seats against 25 for Likud and Lapid’s party securing only seven seats, down from the 24 it currently holds.

The National and Gulf Times added a further projection, saying Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and religious parties would fall short of a majority with around 50 seats, while a Bennett-Lapid alliance with smaller factions could reach at least 60 seats.

CNBC described Netanyahu’s coalition as commanding only 50 seats compared with at least 60 for Bennett and Lapid’s likely coalition, and it said the survey was on par with other polls by academic institutions and other Israeli media.

In terms of rhetoric, Sky News quoted Lapid saying, “We are standing here together for the sake of our children. The State of Israel must change direction,” and it quoted Bennett saying, “After 30 years it is time to part with Netanyahu ‌and open a new chapter for Israel.”

Al Jazeera also quoted Bennett’s joint televised statement: “I am pleased to announce that tonight, together with my friend Yair Lapid, I am taking the most Zionist and patriotic step we have ever taken for our country,” and it included Lapid’s line that “Bennett is a right-wing politician, but an honest one, and there is trust between us.”

The sources also describe how the opposition’s campaign is tied to Israel’s internal political disputes, including military service exemptions sought by Netanyahu’s ultra-religious allies, and to the broader question of how wars are managed.

The National said Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies have pushed for exemptions from mandatory military service for their communities, calling it “a contentious issue” that has intensified as the military warns of overstretch following two years of heavy casualties.

Anadolu Ajansı

CNBC likewise said Netanyahu’s ultra-religious political allies have been seeking an exemption for their communities from the conscript military, and it described the issue as “a hot-button issue in Israel” that has become more pressing since the military warned of being over-stretched and “in the last two years, has exacted the highest military death toll in decades.”

Both Lapid and Bennett are described as making the issue central to their campaign, with The National saying “Both Lapid and Bennett have made the issue central to their campaign,” and it added that they criticized Netanyahu for failing to translate military gains into strategic wins over Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon and Gaza.

Al Jazeera added that Lapid and Bennett have been critics of Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s wars since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, and it said Bennett would establish a national commission of inquiry into failures leading up to that attack.

The political stakes are also framed through the history of their alliances, with Al Jazeera saying they joined forces before, ending Netanyahu’s successive 12-year tenure in a 2021 election, only to form a coalition government that survived barely 18 months.

Looking ahead, the sources converge on an election due by October and on the opposition’s stated goal to “focus all efforts on winning the critical upcoming elections – and leading Israel forward into the future,” as Lapid said in multiple outlets.