‘Israel must change direction’: Netanyahu rivals join forces for next election

The former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (left) and opposition leader Yair Lapid said it was time for ‘a new chapter for Israel’. Photograph: Gideon Markowitz/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (left) and opposition leader Yair Lapid said it was time for ‘a new chapter for Israel’. Photograph: Gideon Markowitz/ReutersIsrael‘Israel must change direction’: Netanyahu rivals join forces for next electionRightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid announce new party before Knesset vote expected later this yearPeter Beaumont Senior international correspondentMon 27 Apr 2026 05.58 EDTFirst published on Mon 27 Apr 2026 03.35 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing the prospect of running against a rightwing-centrist super coalition in elections later this year after two of his most formidable political rivals combined forces in an attempt to oust him, inviting a third party leader to join them.In a move that some analysts compared to the centre-right coalition that removed Viktor Orbán from power in Hungary, the former prime ministers – rightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid – issued statements announcing the merger of their parties, Bennett 2026 and Yesh Atid (There is a Future).The move came as Netanyahu disclosed he had recently had a malignant tumour removed from his prostate, leading to questions about the timing of a disclosure that was vague on details and his wider health, with the latter now likely to be an election issue.“We are standing here together for the sake of our children. The state of Israel must change direction,” Lapid said standing alongside Bennett at a joint news conference on Sunday.Bennett said the new party would be called Together and that he would be its leader. “After 30 years, it is time to part with Netanyahu and open a new chapter for Israel,” he said.View image in fullscreenNaftali Bennett and Yair Lapid joined forces previously, though their coalition was short-lived. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/APBennet also invited Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and leader of the Yashar party to join them. Polls suggest that a combination of the three parties would create the largest grouping in the Knesset. On Monday, Eisenkot asked Bennett to coordinate any future moves with him.Although Eisenkot has not formally announced whether he will join the coalition, he quickly welcomed the new grouping.“The goal of winning the critical elections ahead of us is a shared one,” Eisenkot wrote, calling Bennett and Lapid “partners” and pledging to continue acting “responsibly and wisely” to achieve “the victory and change required for the state of Israel”.Giving an indication of the scale of the challenge to Netanyahu, a recent poll for the Maariv newspaper showed Bennett’s party tied with Netanyahu’s Likud on 24 Knesset seats, while Lapid’s Yesh Atid would receive seven and Eisenkot’s Yashar 12.Deadly Israeli attacks worsen Gaza’s water shortage crisisRead moreThe nature of Israel’s coalition politics, however, would probably see Bennett lose some support in any partnership with Lapid, losing disaffected Likud voters strongly opposed to Lapid.Since his first term in the 1990s, Netanyahu has become a polarising figure at home and abroad. Bennett and Lapid have joined forces before, putting an end to Netanyahu’s successive 12-year tenure in a 2021 election, only to form a coalition government that, with a…

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