The Central Elections Committee ruled that the Likud party must remove a manipulated image showing former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid celebrating with Arab politicians following the announcement that Arab parties would work toward reuniting in a new joint list ahead of the upcoming Knesset election.
The committee says the Likud must also cover Bennett’s NIS 8,500 fee for bringing a complaint against the image.
The hawkish politician is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s primary challenger for the premiership in this year’s Knesset election.
In 2021-22, Bennett teamed up with a bloc of parties opposed to Netanyahu — including the Islamist Ra’am — and unseated the longtime premier after more than 12 years in power.
Days before the 2021 election, Bennett had promised live on air not to join a government with Lapid or with Ra’am, only to break that promise weeks later.
As of this morning, the picture is still on the Likud’s X account.
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Friday, February 13, 2026
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