Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest rivals merge Israeli political parties

benjamin netanyahu's two biggest political rivals — former prime ministers naftali bennett and yair lapid — are merging their parties ahead of this year's election. the new alliance brings together bennett's yamina party and lapid's yesh atid, creating a single bloc to challenge netanyahu's likud. the merger is the most significant reshuffling of israeli opposition politics in years. bennett and lapid previously served in a rotation government that ousted netanyahu in 2021, but that coalition collapsed in late 2022. both men have been polling behind netanyahu individually, and the combined ticket is seen as an attempt to consolidate the anti-netanyahu vote. no date has been set for the election yet, but it must be held by october 2026.