On April 26 Naftali Bennett, widely seen as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced he would join forces with Yair Lapid of the centrist-liberal Yesh Atid party ahead of Israel’s October election. The new party will be called BeYachad, Hebrew for “together.”
Bennett, who served a short one-year term as prime minister in 2021–22 and previously led the Yesha Council representing West Bank settlements, aims to attract right-wing, anti-Netanyahu votes while Lapid brings secular, centrist support. Analysts say the union is intended to position Bennett as a legitimate leader of Israel’s Zionist mainstream.
Tal Schneider, diplomatic and political correspondent for the Times of Israel, says Lapid’s falling support and the opposition’s desire not to lose Knesset seats were major factors in the merger. In Israel the largest party usually gets the first chance to form a coalition, but becoming prime minister depends on the total number of coalition-ready seats — so building the country’s largest party matters. Schneider adds BeYachad’s growth is likelier if another opposition party joins, naming the Yashar Party led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot as a possible partner. Eisenkot has said he has spoken with Bennett and Lapid and wants the bloc to maximize votes in what he calls Israel’s most important election.
Early polls are not encouraging for the new alliance. A Walla internet poll indicated BeYachad would win 27 seats, whereas polls had previously suggested Lapid’s and Bennett’s parties would total 31 seats separately. The Walla poll also projected gains for Eisenkot’s Yashar (15 seats, up from 12) and for Netanyahu’s Likud (28, up from 24). Under that survey the opposition bloc would hold 59 seats, two short of the 61 needed for a governing majority, while Netanyahu’s bloc would have 51. The remaining 10 seats were expected to be split between Arab-majority parties: the Joint List (5) and Ra’am (United Arab List) (5).
Ra’am’s role remains contentious. In 2021 Ra’am became the first Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition, part of the Bennett–Lapid-led government that also included right-wing Avigdor Lieberman. The current far-right coalition criticizes Bennett and Lapid for that cooperation, even though Netanyahu’s Likud reportedly also negotiated with Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas. Bennett has said he would not repeat such cooperation if he leads the government again. Abbas’s 2021 statement acknowledging Israel “was born a Jewish state and would remain that way” was seen as unprecedented for a party representing Arab citizens, and some voters and politicians remain open to working with Ra’am.
Schneider calls the criticism of cooperating with Ra’am “racist,” arguing the present coalition equates Ra’am with terrorists despite no known connections. She believes many opposition voters would welcome renewed cooperation with Abbas’s party.
Bennett and Lapid invoked the example of Viktor Orbán’s defeat in Hungary in their joint press conference. Schneider sees parallels between Orbán’s and Netanyahu’s governments: perceived erosion of media independence, judicial safeguards, civil freedoms and the right to protest, along with strong control over security institutions and parts of the media. That comparison gives the opposition a recent precedent for unseating a leader seen as consolidating power.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is scarcely featured in the current political debate. Schneider says the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and their aftermath have left most Israelis skeptical about the prospects for resolving the conflict. As a result, both right and left have put their differences on Palestinian policy aside to focus on protecting democratic institutions. Bennett has reiterated his refusal to allow a Palestinian state, leaving Palestinians in the occupied territories with little expectation that a change of government will alter their situation.
Edited by: Cai Nebe