Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will hold a joint press conference on Sunday evening to announce their plan to form a united political party for the upcoming Israeli elections.
Lapid's Yesh Atid Party and Bennett 2026 will form a joint list party called "Together", which will be led by Bennett, his office announced.
The agreement between Lapid and Bennett was signed on Saturday evening, Lapid’s office confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
Eisenkot invited to join Lapid and Bennett's Together party
Space has been left for Yashar! leader Gadi Eisenkot to join the merger as well, Bennett’s office told the Post.
Eisenkot had previously been offered a seat in Bennett's party, but said last month that he declined the offer because he did not want to serve as second-in-command.
Since then, there have been reports of ongoing talks among Bennett, Eisenkot, and Lapid about forming a joint party called “New Israel.”
Lapid believes that to win the elections, the bloc must stand behind Bennett, a leader who, in his view, is a right-winger, yet liberal and law-abiding.
The pair spoke about stopping the squabbles within the opposition bloc, working together to focus on one aim - to win the elections, bringing about change in the country.
Polls have found that there is a significant advantage to Bennett leading the joint list and becoming prime minister.
"This brings about the unification of the Repair Bloc, and enables focusing all efforts on leading Israel toward the necessary repair," Lapid wrote on X/Twitter.
Eisenkot responded to the announcement, saying that the "goal of winning the critical elections before us is a shared goal."
"I see Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid as partners and will continue to do, with responsibility and wisdom, what is right to achieve the victory and the change needed for the State of Israel. Fixing Israel is the mission of my life, and I am determined to fulfill it," Eisenkot wrote on X.
Blue and White chair Benny Gantz congratulated Bennett and Lapid. He said that the real connection the State of Israel needs is "between the different parts of the people, without boycotts and without hatred."
"Only a broad Zionist unity government will ensure that, which will isolate the extremists and advance Israel forward, and not a government that relies on extremists or non-Zionist parties," he wrote.
"And that - only Blue and White promises," he concluded.
Democrats Party head Yair Golan wrote that he "welcomes every unification in the [Left] bloc."
"In the face of the challenges before us, the Democrats Party will constitute the sturdy democratic and liberal backbone in the next government, and will ensure that the camp's values lead and are not pushed aside," he added.
Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman wrote that he welcomes the unification and wishes them both success.
"We must remember that the goal is to replace the government of October 7," he wrote on X.
Reservists Party chair Yoaz Hendel wished Bennett and Lapid "success in uniting their lists."
"We call on right-wingers who have been hesitating to join the Reservists Party," he added.
The Benjamin Netanyahu-led Likud Party posted an inflammatory AI-generated picture showing Ra'am (United Arab List) leader Mansour Abbas driving a vehicle, with child versions of Bennett and Lapid in the rear seats.
"Even together, it's clear - the driver in Mansour, no matter how the Left divides its votes," Likud wrote on X.
"In any case, Bennett and Lapid will go again with the Muslim Brotherhood, the terror supporters," the party wrote.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also posted an inflammatory AI-generated picture showing Abbas officiating a wedding between Lapid and Bennett.
"The Bennett-Lapid-[Muslim] Brotherhood alliance is back to selling the country to the Islamist movement. Bennett was and will remain an extreme Leftist," he wrote on X.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) reacted to the announcement by saying, "Do not interfere with the Left on how to divide votes," posting a picture of the two former PMs signing a coalition agreement with Abbas in 2021.
"The Abbas Servants' Alliance," Smotrich called them on X.
Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) said that "After failing in his second attempt to deceive right-wing voters, the leftist Bennett is uniting. Let the left divide its votes as it sees fit."
Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) also responded to the announcement on X, writing that "This is how it is when there's no ideology and no agenda at all."
"Neither Right nor Left. Bennett is like a rightist, and Lapid is like a leftist, and together they are trying to pass the electoral threshold," he wrote.
"I'm proud to be in Likud, the most democratic party in Israel with a clear and sharp national path," he added.