Overview
- The joint list, unveiled Sunday, will run as Together with Naftali Bennett as leader and Yair Lapid joining him on a single slate.
- At a Herzliya press conference, the pair pledged a state inquiry into the Oct. 7 failures, a universal IDF draft with no funding for draft dodgers, and an eight-year limit on any prime minister’s tenure.
- Benjamin Netanyahu and right‑wing ministers quickly condemned the move, accusing the new bloc of planning to lean on Arab parties and reviving attacks tied to the 2021 coalition that included Ra’am.
- Bennett invited former IDF chief and Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to join the bloc, and Eisenkot congratulated the move without committing to enter the alliance.
- Recent Israeli media polls cited in coverage show Bennett gaining strength and an expanded anti‑Netanyahu camp outnumbering the current coalition in seats, though surveys still fall short of a clear 61‑seat majority.