Bennett and Lapid Merge Parties to Challenge Netanyahu

In Jerusalem on Sunday, two former Israeli prime ministers, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, announced they would merge their political parties into a single faction aimed at defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition in elections expected by the end of October.

The alliance combines Bennett's right-wing Bennett 2026 party with Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid, or There Is a Future. The new entity, named Together, will be led by Bennett, according to a statement from his office. Lapid, the current opposition leader, described the move as a way "to unite the bloc, put an end to internal divisions, and focus all efforts on winning the critical upcoming elections and leading Israel forward into the future." The two leaders scheduled a joint news conference later that day to discuss the partnership.

Bennett and Lapid have collaborated before. In 2021, they formed a diverse coalition that ended Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister, with Bennett serving the first year and Lapid acting as caretaker prime minister for the subsequent six months. That government lasted just 18 months before collapsing, paving the way for Netanyahu's return to power in November 2022...