Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fiercest political rivals announced on Sunday that they are joining forces in an attempt to topple his coalition government in upcoming elections, expected later this year.
Former prime ministers, right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid, released statements announcing the merger of their parties, "Bennett 2026" and "There is a Future."
"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 press conference.
Bennett has said that the new party will be called "Together" and that he will be its leader.
"After 30 years, it is time to part ways with Netanyahu and open a new chapter for Israel," he declared.
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Since his first term in office in the 1990s, Netanyahu has become a highly polarizing figure at home and abroad.
Bennett and Lapid have teamed up before, ending Netanyahu's 12 consecutive years in power in the 2021 elections, but then formed a coalition government that, with a small majority and deep divisions on major issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, lasted only about 18 months.
Their coalition included, for the first time in Israel's history, a party from the country's Arab minority – Palestinians by descent, Israeli citizens, the United Arab List (UAL).
Before that, the two had entered the 2013 coalition government, leaving out Netanyahu's traditional ultra-Orthodox allies.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, returned to power when he won the November 2022 elections and formed the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
But Hamas's 2023 attack on southern Israel, which plunged the Middle East into turmoil and embroiled Israel in several war fronts, severely damaged Netanyahu's security credentials, and polls since then have predicted he could lose the next election, due by the end of October.
However, Netanyahu, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation, has shown remarkable skills for political survival in the past.
On Sunday, he posted on Telegram a 2021 photo of Bennett and Lapid with UAL head Mansour Abbas.
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"They did it once, they'll do it again," Netanyahu wrote, referring to their short-lived 2021 coalition that included the UAL.
Bennett has said he will no longer seek a coalition with Arab parties and ruled out handing over territories to enemies, an apparent reference to the Palestinians' goal of creating an independent state in territories occupied by Israel.
