{"id":399963,"date":"2026-04-19T09:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/399963\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T09:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:42:10","slug":"bennett-eisenkot-and-lapid-said-holding-contacts-on-forming-joint-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/399963\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennett, Eisenkot and Lapid said holding contacts on forming joint party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, ex-chief of the military Gadi Eisenkot, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are holding contacts on the potential formation of a new joint party called \u201cNew Israel,\u201d Channel 12 news reported.<\/p>\n

According to the unsourced report, representatives for the three men are discussing a merger ahead of the upcoming elections, set for October, hoping to present a united front against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

One idea being discussed, the report said, is to hold primaries in 15 locations nationwide to determine who should lead the merged list in the general election. The merger and primary proposal were put to respondents in a recent poll conducted by one of the parties, the report said.<\/p>\n

Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar! party and is a former IDF chief of staff, was first reported to have proposed<\/a> a merger in January with Bennett and Lapid, both of whom have courted the former IDF commander for their own parties.<\/p>\n

Yashar! and Bennett 2026 have consistently polled in recent months as the strongest parties in the opposition bloc, with surveys showing they would be the largest factions after Netanyahu\u2019s Likud. Each would secure 16 seats if elections were held now, according to a recent survey<\/a> by Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel\u2019s Hebrew-language sister site.<\/p>\n

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In contrast, Lapid\u2019s Yesh Atid \u2014 currently the largest opposition party and the second-largest Knesset faction with 24 seats \u2014 would drop to just five seats, according to the survey, just one above the minimum that parties must win in order to enter parliament.<\/p>\n

However, if Eisenkot, Lapid and Bennett ran together, their combined ticket would get 38 seats, making it the largest faction in the Knesset, though it would not significantly change the respective sizes of the two main rival blocs, the poll found.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Shalev Shalom\/POOL)<\/p>\n

The poll put the current coalition at 51 seats in total, while the Zionist opposition would receive 60 and the Arab-majority parties 9. Neither side would be able to assemble a 61-strong majority and form a government without Arab-party support.<\/p>\n

Bennett and Lapid formed a short-lived government in 2021 by signing up Ra\u2019am, an Arab Islamist party, to join the coalition.<\/p>\n

Last year, Bennett said he would not bring<\/a> Arab parties into the next government if faced with the choice.<\/p>\n

Sam Sokol and Tal Schneider contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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