Erdan, Edelstein tease plans to unveil new right-wing party on Thursday

Ex-Likud minister Gilad Erdan and Likud rebel MK Yuli Edelstein announce that they will hold a special event tomorrow evening to announce the establishment of “a new right-wing party” under Erdan’s leadership.

In a video posted to X, Erdan can be seen watching the Knesset Channel as lawmakers pass legislation halting arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders before turning to the camera and addressing rumors and media reports regarding the imminent launch of his new party, stating that he is “here to tell you that it’s happening soon, very soon.”

Afterward, the camera pulls out to show the former Israeli ambassador to the UN with Edelstein, the former head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and a fierce opponent of efforts to exempt yeshiva students from conscription. Edelstein quit Likud in July after decades in the party to forge a “new political path.”

אוטוטו pic.twitter.com/19YwqpAT1l

— Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) August 5, 2026

After the slogan “rightwing, conscription, unity” appears onscreen, the video shows the pair ignoring a phone call from United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf, with Edelstein saying that he’s “not relevant.”

In May, Erdan told Radio 103FM, after months of unconfirmed media reports, that he was considering establishing a new right-wing political party to compete against Likud, stating that he sees himself as a potential premier once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves politics.

Speaking with The Times of Israel in May, a political source with knowledge of the discussions about the formation of the new party — dubbed “Likud B” and seen as a more “statesmanlike” alternative to the Likud — said that it aimed to establish a right-wing Zionist coalition focused on economic recovery, security and settlements, which could “rein in the extremists” and include centrist elements as well. The new party would also support a more moderate judicial reform without the “political dispute” inherent in Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s approach.

The Likud B would be willing to sit with former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot — but not The Democrats’ Yair Golan, who is “not Zionist,” the source, who is no longer privy to details regarding the new party, claimed at the time. Golan is a former IDF deputy chief of staff. The source added that its members would also be willing to partner with Netanyahu and far-right figures like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

This willingness, the source explained, is based on an assessment that they would be able to moderate the worst impulses of the far-right by taking the kingmaker role currently held by the Haredi parties, which they do not want in a coalition.

According to Channel 12, Erdan has been in contact with former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch regarding her possible involvement in the new party.

A poll published by The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site Zman Yisrael last week found that a new party headed by Erdan and Edelstein would win five Knesset seats if elections were held today, but would fail to end the electoral stalemate.