Lapid: ‘I believe there will be more mergers’ of parties ahead of the election

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he expects additional mergers of political parties ahead of this fall’s elections, contending that politicians who disagree can still unite around a shared goal.

“I believe there will be more mergers,” Lapid says, speaking at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Judaism and State Policy Center in Jerusalem, two weeks after his Yesh Atid party and Naftali Bennett’s eponymous party announced the establishment of a joint slate called Together, which Bennett will lead.

“I felt it was important to make the first move, so that the country would remember that people who disagree with one another know how to work together for a goal bigger than themselves,” Lapid says.

Bennett and Lapid have called on fellow anti-Netanyahu candidate Gadi Eisenkot to join their slate in the number-two spot, which Lapid referenced in his speech. He said he “cannot unite with Itamar Ben Gvir because the disagreement is too deep” between him and the far-right leader, but added, “I can unite with people like Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot when there is a foundation of shared values.”

Eisenkot has indicated he does not intend to accept that offer, and there has been speculation that he may pursue a merger with Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish opposition party, Yisrael Beytenu, amid reports that the two are working to expand cooperation ahead of elections.