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Monday, May 18, 2026
Bennett and Eisenkot meet, agree to continue talks on future coalition building
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Former prime minister and Together chairman Naftali Bennett met with Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot on Sunday evening, a spokesperson for Bennett announces.
“During their meeting, they discussed the necessary moves within the ‘correction and hope’ bloc ahead of the dissolution of the Knesset, leading it to victory, and establishing a Zionist government based on the ‘alliance of those who serve,'” the spokesperson says, adding that the pair “agreed to continue meeting soon.”
Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid launched their joint slate late last month, and the new union is now running neck-and-neck with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud to be the largest party in the Knesset after the next elections. Both have repeatedly invited Eisenkot to merge with them, with Lapid even saying he would be willing to take third place, rather than second, on their joint electoral slate if it would help secure a broader merger with Yashar.
While Eisenkot has indicated he may be open to the possibility, he recently criticized Bennett and Lapid, telling party activists that he had pushed for months to create a large centrist party.
However, he did not succeed and ultimately received a phone call informing him of Bennett and Lapid’s union only minutes before it was publicly announced.
The Times of Israel Community.