Bennett and Lapid merge parties to challenge Netanyahu in 2026 vote

Overview

Updated May 31

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former Israeli prime ministers, briefly removed Benjamin Netanyahu from power in 2021. On April 26, they announced a merger of their parties into a slate called 'Together, Led by Bennett.' Netanyahu responded within hours. He posted a video showing the pair's 2021 coalition-signing ceremony with Arab party leader Mansour Abbas, captioned 'They did it once, they will do it again.'

Opposition leaders welcomed the merger: Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar), Benny Gantz (National Unity), Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), and Yair Golan (Democrats) all backed it the same day. Bennett invited Eisenkot to join the combined list, though Eisenkot didn't commit.

Pre-merger polling put Together at 28 seats against Likud's 25. Finishing first in seats doesn't guarantee a government. The right-religious bloc behind Netanyahu has historically been easier to consolidate to a 61-seat majority than any opposition coalition.

Why it matters

The merged slate polls ahead of Likud; Netanyahu's immediate counterattack confirms the threat is real.

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Key Indicators

Combined seats in pre-merger polling

Bennett's 21 plus Lapid's 7 — the new joint list's starting position before the merger boost.

Likud's polled seats

Netanyahu's party trails the combined opposition slate in the most recent N12 poll.

Seats needed for a Knesset majority

The threshold for forming a governing coalition in Israel's 120-seat parliament.

17 years

Netanyahu's cumulative time as PM

Across multiple terms since 1996, interrupted only by the 2021–22 Bennett-Lapid government.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Naftali Bennett

Leader of 'Together' party; former Prime Minister of Israel

Heads the new merged opposition slate

Yair Lapid

Number two on 'Together' slate; former Prime Minister of Israel

Subsumed his Yesh Atid party into the merger

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel; leader of Likud

Faces unified opposition slate ahead of 2026 vote

Gadi Eisenkot

Leader of Yashar party; former IDF Chief of Staff

Welcomed Bennett-Lapid merger; has not committed to joining Together

Benny Gantz

Leader of National Unity party; former Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff

Welcomed Together merger; National Unity remains a separate party

Avigdor Liberman

Leader of Yisrael Beytenu party; former Defense Minister

Welcomed Bennett-Lapid merger; party remains separate

Yair Golan

Leader of the Democrats party; former Deputy IDF Chief of Staff

Welcomed Bennett-Lapid merger; party remains separate

Organizations Involved

Together

Israeli political party

Newly formed opposition slate

Merged centrist-to-soft-right slate combining Bennett's and Lapid's parties for the 2026 election.

Likud

Political Party

Governing party led by Netanyahu

Israel's dominant right-wing party and the anchor of every Netanyahu-led government.

Knesset (Parliament of Israel)

National Parliament

Body whose composition the 2026 election will determine

Israel's 120-seat unicameral parliament, elected by nationwide proportional representation.

Yashar

Israeli political party

Potential merger partner for Together; leader welcomed but did not commit to joining

Centrist security-focused party led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, polling at roughly 5–7 seats.

National Unity

Israeli political party

Separate opposition party; Gantz welcomed the Bennett-Lapid merger

Center-right party led by Benny Gantz, former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, polling at roughly 10–12 seats.

Yisrael Beytenu

Israeli political party

Separate opposition party; Liberman welcomed Bennett-Lapid merger

Secular nationalist party led by Avigdor Liberman, with a base of Russian-speaking Israeli voters, polling at roughly 7–9 seats.

Democrats (Ha-Demokratim)

Israeli political party

Separate opposition party; Golan welcomed Bennett-Lapid merger

Left-wing party led by Yair Golan, formed from the 2025 merger of Labor and Meretz, polling at roughly 9–11 seats.

Timeline

June 2021 April 2026

8 events Latest: April 26th, 2026 · 5 months ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

April 2026
Bennett and Lapid announce 'Together' merger
Latest Political

The two former prime ministers fold their parties into a single slate led by Bennett, with Lapid as number two, to run a unified opposition campaign.
April 26th, 2026
Netanyahu posts inflammatory video attacking the merger
Political

Hours after the Together announcement, Netanyahu published a video on X/Twitter showing the 2021 coalition-signing ceremony between Bennett, Lapid, and Arab party leader Mansour Abbas of Ra'am, captioned 'They did it once, they will do it again.' Likud separately posted an AI-generated image depicting Abbas driving a car with child versions of Bennett and Lapid as passengers.
April 26th, 2026
Eisenkot, Gantz, Liberman, and Golan welcome merger; Bennett invites Eisenkot to join
Political

All four major opposition bloc leaders outside Together welcomed the merger on the day of the announcement. Gadi Eisenkot said he had spoken to Bennett before the press conference and praised the decision but did not confirm whether he would join. Bennett publicly called on Eisenkot to join Together, leaving a slot open for him.
April 26th, 2026
Pre-merger poll shows fragmented opposition
Poll

An N12 News survey puts Bennett's list at 21 seats, Likud at 25, and Lapid's Yesh Atid at 7 — down from 24 in the current Knesset.
April 23rd, 2026
October 2023
Hamas attack triggers war and political crisis
Security

The deadliest attack in Israeli history reshapes domestic politics, sharpens criticism of Netanyahu, and sets the backdrop for the next election.
October 7th, 2023
December 2022
Netanyahu returns to power
Election / Coalition

Netanyahu forms a coalition with ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
December 29th, 2022
June 2022
Change government collapses
Coalition

The Bennett-Lapid coalition disintegrates after defections; Lapid becomes interim prime minister and parliament dissolves.
June 30th, 2022
June 2021
Bennett-Lapid coalition ousts Netanyahu
Election / Coalition

An eight-party coalition spanning right, center, left and an Arab party installs Bennett as prime minister under a rotation deal with Lapid, ending Netanyahu's 12-year run.
June 13th, 2021

Scenarios

Together wins plurality, Bennett returns as prime minister

Possible

Discussed by: Israeli political analysts at Haaretz and Channel 12; pollster Camil Fuchs

Together holds or grows its current polling lead, attracts smaller centrist factions, and clears 61 seats with allies including Benny Gantz's National Unity, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Labor. Bennett forms a coalition without ultra-Orthodox or far-right parties — the first government of its kind since the brief 2021 experiment. The trigger is whether the joint list can hold the right-leaning Bennett voter and the secular-centrist Lapid voter in the same tent through the campaign.

Likud rebuilds right-religious bloc, Netanyahu serves another term

Possible

Discussed by: Likud strategists; commentators at Israel Hayom

Netanyahu uses the campaign to attack Bennett as a serial coalition-breaker and Lapid as too weak, and his bloc consolidates ultra-Orthodox, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit votes that don't transfer to Together. Even if Likud trails the joint list in seats, the right-religious bloc reaches 61 first because the opposition still depends on Arab parties whose support most coalition partners refuse. Netanyahu has used exactly this arithmetic to govern since 2009.

Hung Knesset, neither bloc reaches 61

Likely

Discussed by: Israel Democracy Institute analysts; political scientists at Hebrew University

Both blocs land in the mid-50s, with Arab parties and a small kingmaker faction holding the balance. Negotiations stretch for months, a fifth election in seven years becomes plausible, and either Bennett or Netanyahu attempts a minority government on outside support. This is the default outcome of Israeli politics since 2019 — three of the last six elections produced no stable coalition on the first attempt.

Merger fractures before election day

Uncertain

Discussed by: Skeptical commentators citing the 2019–20 Blue and White precedent

Bennett's right-of-center base and Lapid's secular-centrist base prove incompatible under campaign pressure; one wing splits off, restoring a fragmented opposition. The trigger would be a policy fight over the Gaza war, judicial reform, or religion-and-state — the same fault lines that broke the 2021 coalition in a year.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 2009

Kadima's 2009 plurality

Tzipi Livni's Kadima won 28 seats to Likud's 27 but could not assemble 61 votes from the rest of the Knesset. President Shimon Peres handed the mandate to Netanyahu, who built a coalition with the right and the ultra-Orthodox.

Then

Netanyahu returned to the prime minister's office despite finishing second.

Now

The episode anchored the modern rule of Israeli coalition politics: winning the most seats matters less than commanding 61, and the right-religious bloc has been easier to assemble than its rival.

Why this matters now

Together leading Likud in seat polls is not enough on its own. The relevant question is which bloc — including parties not in the merger — can reach 61 first.

February 2019 – March 2020

Blue and White merger (2019–2020)

Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, and Moshe Ya'alon merged their parties into Blue and White to challenge Netanyahu, winning 35 seats in April 2019 and tying Likud across three elections. The alliance entered a unity government with Netanyahu in 2020 and immediately splintered.

Then

Lapid quit the merger when Gantz agreed to serve under Netanyahu, returning to a smaller Yesh Atid.

Now

The episode reinforced the lesson that personality-driven Israeli mergers tend to dissolve when one partner is offered a seat at Netanyahu's table.

Why this matters now

Lapid has now agreed to play number two again — exactly the role that ended badly with Gantz. The merger's stability hinges on whether Bennett resists the same temptation.

June 2021 – June 2022

The 'change government' (2021)

Eight parties from Meretz on the left to Yamina on the right, plus the Islamist Ra'am, formed a coalition for the express purpose of removing Netanyahu. Bennett took the premiership first under a rotation deal with Lapid, despite his party holding only 7 seats. The coalition held a one-seat majority.

Then

It ended Netanyahu's 12-year run and passed the first state budget in three years. It collapsed within 12 months after right-wing defections.

Now

It proved that a heterogeneous anti-Netanyahu bloc could win, but also that it could not govern long without a coherent program beyond opposing him.

Why this matters now

Together is the same partnership minus the ideological extremes — designed to keep the winning formula and shed the contradictions that broke the last one.