Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has announced that he will join forces with former prime minister Naftali Bennett ahead of Israel’s upcoming elections, in a move aimed at unseating incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid said the two leaders would run on a joint electoral list in the parliamentary elections scheduled for October, with a formal announcement expected later on Sunday.
In a post on X, Lapid said the alliance would mark “the first step in repairing the State of Israel,” describing it as a merger between his Yesh Atid party and Bennett’s “Bennett 2026” political platform under Bennett’s leadership.
He added that the move would consolidate what he called a “Repair Bloc,” allowing efforts to focus on what he described as national recovery and political restructuring.
Both Lapid and Bennett have been vocal critics of Netanyahu, particularly over his handling of the conflict since October 2023. Lapid recently described the Iran ceasefire as a “political disaster.”
Bennett, a right-wing politician and former commando officer, previously served as prime minister in a short-lived coalition government formed with Lapid in 2021 before its collapse in 2022, paving the way for Netanyahu’s return to power.
Opinion polls suggest Bennett could be one of the strongest challengers to Netanyahu in the upcoming vote.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has indicated he will lead his Likud party into the election, which must be held by the end of October.