finance
Bennett and Lapid Merge Parties to Form 'Together' for 2026 Elections
Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced the merger of their political parties on April 26, 2026, forming a new entity called Together. The move aims to unite opposition forces ahead of elections due by October 2026. Bennett will lead the new party, drawing on their past collaboration to oust current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced the merger of their parties on April 26, 2026, forming a new political entity called Together to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections. The announcement came during a joint press conference in Herzliya, Israel, where Bennett and Lapid issued statements outlining their alliance.
The merger combines Bennett's party, Bennett 2026, with Lapid's party, There is a Future.
Bennett will lead the new party, according to his office. Bennett said that if elected, he would establish a national commission of inquiry into failures leading up to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack. The two leaders have previously collaborated, joining forces in a 2021 election to end Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure.
That coalition government survived for 18 months. Earlier, Bennett and Lapid had joined Netanyahu’s 2013 coalition government. Netanyahu won the November 2022 election and returned to power. The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel prompted Israel to respond with a war against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has attacked several of its neighbors in recent years following that incident. The next Israeli election is due by the end of October 2026. An April 23, 2026 survey by Israel’s N12 News found Bennett securing 21 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, while Netanyahu’s Likud would secure 25 seats.
The same survey projected Lapid’s party securing 7 seats, down from the 24 seats it currently holds. Naftali Bennett is 54 years old and a former army commando turned tech millionaire. Yair Lapid is 62 years old and a former TV news anchor who claims to represent Israel’s secular middle class.
