Two former Israeli prime ministers announced that they have merged their parties in an effort to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the forthcoming elections.
“I’m thrilled to announce to you that tonight, together with my colleague Yair Lapid, we’re taking the most Zionist and patriotic action we’ve ever taken, for the sake of our country,” former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on behalf of he and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid. A new party, called the Together Party, will be led by Bennett.
He said the party will “lead to a great victory and the opening of a new era for our beloved country.”
“Yair and I have different views on a range of issues—and we’re not hiding it; on the contrary, we’re proud of it,” Bennett continued. “I’m proud that two leaders with different views can fight together for the good of the people of Israel, just as our sons, our soldiers, fight shoulder to shoulder.”
He described that on the first day of his new government, should he win the election, he would “establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre to bring truth to the families,” lead a “law for service for all, and we’ll stop funding draft evasion even by a single shekel,” and “limit the tenure of a prime minister to eight years,” among other initiatives.
Ahead of the official announcement, Lapid said he and Bennett seek to begin the “process of repairing the State of Israel,” which involves the “unification of the Yesh Atid party and the Bennett 2026 party into a single party led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.”
