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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced on Sunday that he will team up with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ahead of the upcoming elections, aiming to unseat incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid, who has served as Prime Minister before, stated that they will run together on a single list for the October parliamentary vote, with an official declaration expected later Sunday. On social media platform X, Lapid mentioned that they would “initiate the first step in repairing Israel: merging Yesh Atid and ‘Bennett 2026’ into one party led by Naftali Bennett.”
He added, “This union consolidates the Repair Bloc, allowing us to focus all efforts on guiding Israel toward the necessary repair.” Both leaders have been vocal critics of Netanyahu’s management of the country’s conflicts since October 2023, with Lapid calling the recent two-week ceasefire with Iran a “political catastrophe.”
Bennett, a right-wing advocate of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Lapid, a centrist, previously co-led a coalition government in June 2021. This government was replaced at the end of 2022 by Netanyahu’s current administration after Bennett declared his coalition fractured in June, leading Lapid to serve a short term as caretaker prime minister.
Polls suggest Bennett is the most likely candidate to defeat Netanyahu in October’s vote. Bennett, 54, is the son of American immigrants and a former tech entrepreneur who sold his startup in 2005 for $145 million. An ex-elite Israeli commando officer, he resonates with younger Israelis, especially following over two years of conflict in Gaza.
Once an adviser to Netanyahu, Bennett has since become a fierce critic of former mentor’s policies. He has led several right-wing parties before forming a unity government in 2021.
Lapid, 62, is the son of the late journalist and minister Tommy Lapid, a Holocaust survivor, and the esteemed author Shulamit Lapid. A well-known TV journalist, he entered politics in 2012 with the founding of Yesh Atid, which quickly became Israel’s second-largest political party. He has served as opposition leader and held a brief stint as prime minister.
Netanyahu, age 76, intends to head his Likud party’s list in the upcoming election, which must occur by the end of October. He remains Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, with over 18 years in office across multiple terms.
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