Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest opponents are joining forces in an attempt to topple his coalition government, Sky news reports. The former prime ministers, right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid, announced the merger of their parties "Benet 2026" and "There is a Future".
We are here together for the sake of our children. The state of Israel must change its direction, Lapid said. Bennett said the new party would be called "Together" and that he would be its leader. According to him, after 30 years, it is time to part ways with Netanyahu and open a new chapter for Israel.
The two added that their candidacy will become a fact in the upcoming elections, expected later this year. The duo have joined forces before, when they ended Netanyahu's 12-year consecutive term in office in the 2021 elections. They formed a coalition with a slim majority that lasted just 18 months.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, returned to power when he won the November 2022 elections. A year later, the Middle East was plunged into turmoil after Hamas's attack on southern Israel in 2023. Israel responded immediately by carrying out airstrikes on Gaza.
In mid-December, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory had surpassed 45,000. Since then, polls have predicted that Netanyahu will lose the next election, scheduled for late October.
Bennett, 54, a former army commando turned tech millionaire, is trailing Netanyahu in the election polls.
A poll by Israel's N12 News on April 23 found Bennett on track to win 21 of the 120 seats, compared to 25 for Netanyahu's Likud. Lapid's party is on track to win just seven seats, compared to 24 it currently has.