From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Source close to Eisenkot dismisses Lapid’s attempt to bring Yashar party into merger
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"
A source close to Gadi Eisenkot dismisses Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s offer to move down to the number three slot on his joint electoral slate with former prime minister Naftali Bennett in order to create the conditions for “a major merger” with Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
“That’s not the point at all. We’re only interested in what will bring victory to the bloc,” the source tells The Times of Israel.
According to a source in Lapid’s circle, the Yesh Atid chairman informed Bennett that he is willing to go down to the third spot on their joint electoral slate if doing so would create the conditions for Eisenkot’s entry into their alliance, because “his personal ranking is far less important than the need to unite forces and win the election.”
On Sunday evening, Lapid and Bennett announced that they were uniting their two parties into a combined ticket called “Together – Led by Bennett.”
Eisenkot has thus far declined to join the new union despite the fact that he was first reported to have proposed the merger in January.
The Times of Israel Community.