‘Together’: Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announce united run under Bennett in 2026 elections

By Sam Sokol 26 April 2026, 4:25 pm

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Sam 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"

Prime Minister Yair Lapid (right) and alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on July 31, 2022. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are set to officially announce the merger of their two parties under Bennett’s leadership this evening at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

The name of the new party will be “Together – Led by Naftali Bennett,” a spokesman for Bennett says.

“Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and former prime minister Yair Lapid will announce the first step in the process of healing the State of Israel: the merger of the Yesh Atid party and the Bennett 2026 party into a unified party led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett,” Bennett’s office says in a statement.

“This move unites the ‘reform bloc,’ puts an end to infighting, and allows for all efforts to be invested toward a decisive victory in the upcoming elections and to lead Israel toward the necessary reform,” Bennett’s office adds.

A recent Maariv poll showed Bennett’s party neck and neck with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud with 24 Knesset seats, while Yesh Atid received 7.

Bennett, who has previously said that his approach is based on advancing issues on which there is political consensus, had reportedly been in contact with Lapid and Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot to discuss the potential formation of a new joint party called “New Israel.”

On Saturday evening, former MK Matan Kahana, who resigned from the Knesset last year to join former IDF chief of staff Eisenkot’s Yashar party, said that he would remain a member of Yashar, amid speculation that he may defect to join Bennett’s party. Kahana previously served as an MK in Bennett’s Yamina party, and later a minister in his government, and has advocated for a merger between Eisenkot and Bennett.