Bennett and Lapid Unite in One Party to Run Together in Upcoming Elections Led by the Former

SadaNews - Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the leader of the opposition and the "Yesh Atid" party, Yair Lapid, united in one party today, Sunday, to jointly run in the upcoming elections, with Bennett as the head.

This was stated in a statement issued by Bennett's office, which mentioned that "Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid will announce the first step in the reform path for the State of Israel: the merging of the Yesh Atid party and the Bennett 2026 party into a unified party led by Bennett."

The brief statement indicated that "this step unites the reform bloc, puts an end to internal conflicts, and enables the direction of all efforts towards achieving a decisive victory in the upcoming elections, leading Israel towards the desired reform."

The new party will be named "Biyahad" (Together or United) under the leadership of Naftali Bennett; the latter will have the majority in the party.

Bennett and Lapid are scheduled to hold a joint press conference this evening, during which they are expected to invite opposing parties to join their new party.

Israeli reports indicated that Bennett and Lapid signed the merger agreement between them on Saturday night.

Bennett had initially offered the former Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army and leader of the "Yashar" party, Gadi Eisenkot, to join his party, but he refused.

The decision to unite between Bennett and Lapid came after the former stated that it is impossible to win the upcoming elections "in light of the division of forces, and that the opposing bloc against the current government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, suffers from these divisions."

Bennett and Lapid conducted opinion polls before making the decision to unite and met several times last week. Last night, everything was finalized, and they officially signed the agreement.

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported that close associates of Bennett stated that "Bennett and Lapid aim to expand the party's base, attract new audiences, and achieve more communication and real change."

Eisenkot: I See Them as Partners

Former Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Gadi Eisenkot, quickly issued a statement indicating that he "spoke, about half an hour ago, with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and congratulated him."

He said, "The goal of winning in the upcoming decisive elections is a common goal," adding: "I see Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid as partners, and I will continue to work responsibly and wisely to achieve the victory and change sought for the State of Israel."

He continued: "Reforming Israel is my message in life, and I am determined to achieve it."

The leader of the "Yisrael Beiteinu" party, Avigdor Lieberman, welcomed this step. He stated: "We must not forget that the goal is to replace the government of October 7."

For his part, the leader of the "Democrats" party, Yair Golan, in a brief statement, said: "I welcome any unity within the bloc (opposing Netanyahu)."

He added that "in the face of upcoming challenges, the 'Democrats' will form the solid democratic and liberal pillar for the next government, ensuring that the values of the camp are the foundation, not marginalization."

The Likud party, led by Netanyahu, and the "Religious Zionism" party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, attacked this step, as did the Minister of National Security and leader of "Otzmat Yehudit," Itamar Ben Gvir, who stated that "Bennett was an extreme leftist and will remain so."