Khaberni - Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced on Sunday that he and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will compete as a unified front in the elections scheduled for later this year, aiming to overthrow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid, who has also previously served as Prime Minister, said he will run in the legislative elections scheduled for October with Bennett on a joint list.
Lapid wrote on the X platform that he and Bennett will announce "today (Sunday) the first step in the path to reforming Israel: the merger of the Yesh Atid party and Bennett 2026 movement into one party led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett."
He added that "this move will lead to the unification of the reform camp, allowing all efforts to be focused on leading Israel towards the necessary reform."
Both Lapid and Bennett have been critics of Netanyahu's management of the wars Israel has been fighting since October 2023. The former described the ceasefire in the last war with Iran as a "political disaster" for Israel.
The right-leaning Bennett and centrist Lapid formed a coalition government in June 2021, which fell at the end of 2022 to be replaced by the current coalition led by Netanyahu, which is considered the most right-wing in the history of Israel.
Polls show that Bennett is the most likely candidate to defeat Netanyahu in the October elections.
Bennett (54 years old), who served as an advisor to the current prime minister before becoming one of his toughest opponents, led right-wing parties but later formed a broad unity government in 2021.
His new partner in the electoral race, Lapid (62 years old), was a prominent television journalist before entering political life in 2012 by founding the "Yesh Atid" party, which later became the second largest political force in Israel.
Since then, he has led the opposition, except for the short period during which he served as Prime Minister.
For his part, Netanyahu plans to lead the list of his right-wing Likud party in the elections that must be held by the end of October at the latest.
Netanyahu (76 years old) has served as prime minister for the longest period in the history of Israel, spending more than 18 years in office across multiple terms.
